


Stray Dog Records

by NepetaLeijon27



Series: BSD/Magia Record crossover [1]
Category: Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story, 文豪ストレイドッグス | Bungou Stray Dogs
Genre: Angst, Crossover, F/M, Flashbacks, M/M, Mild Language, Mind Control, Non-Binary Chuuya, Unrequited Crush, all ships are endgame, mix between the two stories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-10-17 21:08:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 37,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20627576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NepetaLeijon27/pseuds/NepetaLeijon27
Summary: Young Puer Magi Atsushi arrives in Yokohama, being kicked out of any other places he stays. Little did he know that saving a man from drowning would end up in a life caught in rumors, conspiracies and an organization that aims for the utter destruction of Yokohama...Crossover with Magia Record (main storyline), story will divert later on.





	1. Prologue

'Incoming!'

'Got it.' The young man turns around as he sees the red-haired girl tearing through another familiar. She looks up.

'It's moving.', The third person in the barrier, a veteran Puer Magi, keeps the small cross-shaped pendant close to his other hand. 'Get ready. I'll spread some invisible words you can stand on. When I do that, Mark that's where you come in.' The young man, apparently named Mark, just nods when he says that.

It takes shorter than he thought. As the witch approaches his group, the veteran makes a tear with one of the points of the cross through his hand. His face doesn't even contort from pain as he stretches his scarred hand that is still dripping. Words formed out of fresh blood find their way around his two teammates, and become invisible. 

'Alright. Here I go.' Mark looks at his partners, who nod, as he rushes forward, carried by the invisible words. He prepares the two dolls floating next to him to land the killing blow.

_Hey, Mark._

Mark gasps as he hears something in the back of his head. 'What...' he thinks. He knows he has to focus on the bigger picture: landing the last blow on the witch. As he tries to do so, it is as if the world just stops and stares at to whatever he is doing. 'Lucy...? Nate...?' He looks around, but his teammates are nowhere to be found. Instead, someone clothed in red seer robes is standing in front of him, and Mark doesn't recognize him. 

But they disappear as soon as they came. 'Huh...? Where'd you go?' Mark whispers under his breath, as he quickly releases the final attack on the witch.

The barrier dissipates quickly after that. 'That was close.', Lucy slowly lets out her breath. 'You were amazing, Mark...Mark?' She pokes her partner, who awakens from his 'trance'. 

'Oh, y-yeah. Sorry, I just spaced out there for a minute. I'm okay.' He picks up the Grief Seed Nate gives him and cleanses his Soul Gem. _That was just my imagination, I guess._

Then, it is as if the world stops again. 

_Hey, Mark. _

'Y-you...?', It takes a second before Mark realizes that it happens again. 'Who are you?'

_Come to Yokohama._

'W-what?', Mark frowns. 'W-why should I...?' He sees that although the person doesn't move their mouth, they still speak to him.

_Come to Yokohama. In Yokohama, contracted can be saved._

'...be...saved?' He gets the feeling that the situation is becoming more complicated by the minute. 'What do you mean?'

_If you want to change your fate, come to Yokohama. In Yokohama, it is all possible._

And then, they are gone again. Mark shakes his head and gets back to reality. '...and I was looking forward to talk over coffee, if you'd like.', is the first thing he hears. It is from Nate, he knows. 'I tried out the cake recipe you gave me, Lucy. I don't think it's too bad for someone who doesn't know a lot about baking...' 

Lucy smiles. 'I would love that.', She looks at Mark again. 'What about you?'

'Y-yeah, I'd love to do that too.' He says begrudgingly, and as Nate and Lucy trail off into another conversation, he thinks it over. 

'Coming to Yokohama...', Thoughts race through his mind. 'And change my fate...our fate! But who was that person? Just...what, what in three hells is happening?' He has a lot of questions he dearly wants to be answered. 'Why Yokohama in specific? What do they mean with 'change your fate' and 'be saved'? Why am I the person who is seeing this? Is there someone fucking with me?' 

He only knows the affirmative answer to that last question.

* * *

Although the rain starts to clear up, Atsushi would never say that this is his lucky day.

'So this is Yokohama...', He stares into the water running in front of his feet. 'It certainly is a lot bigger than I thought.' Atsushi looks up, at the tall buildings he associated with the city.

'It is not like I like drifting around, but...'

He puts his left arm on his knee, the silver ring with the light blue gemstone clearly visible around his middle finger. Atsushi carefully tugs at it with his other hand.

'I'm slowly starving...' he thinks, as he notices the space between the ring and his middle finger. 'But I cannot starve myself to death.'

He knows that, because Puer Magi like him cannot die under normal, human circumstances. 'I made that wish a long time ago, and if it were not for that...I certainly would be dead for a long time now.'

Atsushi peers into the distance to his left. The only thing he sees, is the other bridge, and more large glass towers. But then...

'Hey, you!'

Atsushi suddenly sees movement in the water. Judging from the size of the ripples, Atsushi knows that this may not be just a fish. Although he'd like eating fish - it is better than nothing.

'Wait!' Atsushi looks closer and sees that it is definately not an animal of some sorts. Without hesitation, he dives into the water and grabs the thing floating in the water.

As he does so, he immediately notices that it is not just something, but, rather, a someone. Using his built-in strength as a Puer Magi, he grabs the person and pulls them ashore. Once he is sure that he can breathe again, he spits out the water in his lungs.

'Come on!' Atsushi is fully ready to perform CPR when he finds that the person who he just saved, is alive. He now sees that he saved a brown-haired man with dark brown eyes, wearing a tan coat. 'He's a lot taller than me...luckily I saved him.'

Right after he thinks that, the man veers up, slightly startling Atsushi. 'What...? You...?', The man looks at Atsushi. 'You pulled me out of the water?'

Atsushi nods. 'Yes, I did. I saved you!' he says in a somewhat prideful tone. But the man seems to think differently.

'You interrupted my suicide...!' he says. 'You...wanted to die?', Atsushi suddenly is not so sure of the sanity of this man. 'That's crazy! Are you okay? Should I call someone? Do you have friends?'

'Calm down, calm down. I'm okay.', The man plucks at his clothing, his entire body having drifted in water for god knows how long. 'Who are you? I've never seen you before.'

'That can be true, because this is my first day in this town.', Atsushi admits. 'My name is Nakajima Atsushi.', He looks down at the left hand of this man. 'And you're...', His eyes grow bright as he sees the silver ring. 'A Puer Magi too?'

The man stands up and transforms in a flash of light. 'Correct!' Atsushi gasps. The man, of who Atsushi still doesn't have a name, is wearing a dark blue Puer Magi outfit. It is lined with black and grey accents, and his light blue Soul Gem is located in a golden, four-pointed star, in a bandage over his right eye. Atsushi notices that it covers him from the shoulders down, in contrast to his own magical outfit.

'You're...' Atsushi desperately seeks words in his head to string a sentence together, but doesn't find them. But the man finishes his sentence.

'I'm one of Yokohama's Puer Magi, one of the most known, in fact. My name is Dazai Osamu.'

'I'm so so sorry, I haven't heard of you before!', Atsushi averts his gaze. 'Can I get to know you?'

'Of course you can.', he says as he closes his eyes. 'We can fight together, if you want. Yokohama is full of dangers. It is different from other places. You will soon understand why.'

'Oh, okay, then...', Atsushi starts to doubt his decision to come to Yokohama. 'But I'm sure I'll learn the ropes soon...I hope...'

'Aw, whatever. I feel that we can get along.', Dazai smiles, waving away Atsushi's worries. 'Then, let's go. I want you to meet a friend of mine!'

'Oh, really?'

And so, the two walk off into the distance. Atsushi did not know that this meeting would change his entire life...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a heads up: This story is /not/ canon to the AU of mine! It's about as canon as BEAST is to BSD.


	2. The Friendship Ending Rule

'So, how would you say that 'Yokohama is different'?' 

Dazai leads Atsushi into the center of the town, that is bustling with people. Atsushi, knowing that cities like these never sleep, fears that he may not be able to sleep in this new town. But Dazai's answer breaks that train of thought. 

'Well...', he begins. 'How should I put it...? As a first, the government has quite a hand in this city.' 

'Oh?', Atsushi breathes in slowly. 'Delinquents?' 

'No.', Dazai shakes his head. 'It's just...a result of the contracted people being quite close-knit. Everyone hunts together with their friends. I know, it's unusual, but what did I tell you?'

Atsushi nods as he remembers vividly that Dazai told him that Yokohama is different. 'Is there a particular reason for hunting together?' 

'The witches are known for being nasty.', Dazai says, and Atsushi feels his heart sink already. 'But don't worry, I have a lot of friends I know who are pretty powerful veterans. The friend we're going to meet, is one of them.' Atsushi breathes out in relief.

'Hey, Dazai?', Atsushi feels a little bit guilty for asking another question, but Dazai does not look annoyed to him at all. 'Where does this friend of yours live?' 

'It should be down the street here. It may not look like a house of a veteran, but that is because we're not going to his house. This, this is the house of the local Adjuster.' Dazai points to the street at their right side. 

Atsushi tilts his head. 'Adjuster? What is that? I never heard of it.'

'I guess it's something else that's unique to Yokohama.', Dazai explains. 'An Adjuster can actively influence the Soul Gems of other people. They can peer into the true potential of it, and then strengthen you. The Adjuster in this area charges very little, just one Grief Seed per person.' Atsushi nods slowly in understanding. 

'Oh, so they are doing that in exchange for Grief Seeds?' 

'You got it.', Dazai smiles. 'All Adjusters have an innate magic that is not inherently offensive. So they rely on other people to get Grief Seeds for them in return for a huge favor.' 

As Dazai finishes his explanation, they come to a stop in front of a house. 'Here it is.' Seeing Dazai from the window, a tall man with blonde hair tied up in a ponytail opens the door.

'Ah, there you are. Come in.'

The man does not seem to pay attention to Atsushi at all, as Dazai simply enters the house and Atsushi closes the door behind him. 

Atsushi follows Dazai through the hallway, until they reach the living room. 'This is larger than I thought.' he remarks. Dazai sits down in one of the chairs, and Atsushi does too. 

He sees that there is another person in the room next to the two and the blonde man, as he sits right across him. It is a grey-haired man, wearing a green kimono. The look he gives to Atsushi, immediately causes Atsushi to respect him. 'This is the local Adjuster I told you about.' Dazai introduces the man to Atsushi. The man stands up and bows. As he looks up, he tells Atsushi his name. 

'My name is Fukuzawa Yukichi, and as Dazai said, I am the local Adjuster.'

His voice is something Atsushi expected when he first saw him. Calm, but strict. 

'I'm Atsushi Nakajima and I'm new here.', Atsushi replies. 'I met Dazai when he, ehm, tried to drown himself.' He sees from the corner of his eye that the blonde man's face contorts into annoyance. 

Dazai tosses a Grief Seed Fukuzawa's way as a manner of payment. Atsushi puts off his ring and gives it to Fukuzawa.

While Fukuzawa adjusts Atsushi's Soul Gem, the two exchange words. 'I told you not to do that anymore, Dazai.' 

'You can't tell me what to do, Kunikida.' Dazai jabs at the man, who apparently carries the name Kunikida. 

'Watch your words.', Kunikida warns Dazai. 'You know what will happen if you break up our friendship.' Dazai shrugs, leaving Atsushi confused. He frowns. 

'Eh...I'm so sorry, but what do you mean?', he asks. 'I don't know if I'm allowed to know or if you want to tell, but...' 

'It has to do with a rumor.', Dazai says. 'Yokohama is a large town with a huge number of people. Rumors easily arise. It is not exactly a secret, but this rumor is new.' 

Kunikida nods. 'The rumor says that if you break up a friendship, some kind of creature will come for you. It is born out of the misery of a girl who broke off a friendship by pushing her classmate down the stairs. And so, you're cursed to forever clean said stairs if you dare to cut off ties with a friend.' 

After a couple seconds of silence Kunikida deliberately put in to let it sink in, Atsushi puts on a tone of disbelief in his voice. 

'Don't tell me you actually believe this, right?' 

'Don't worry, we're not.', Kunikida ensures him. 'But Dazai and I are caught up in this kind of rumors.' 

'Yes, it kind of started with me.', Dazai admits. 'And I kinda roped Kunikida and some other friends. This time, it's sort of serious.' 

'How?'

'One of my friends disappeared some time ago.', Dazai looks at the ground, although he knows it is not something he should be doing. 'Tanizaki disappeared. He had this huge argument with Kunikida about a week ago, and subsequently decided to take a nap.' 

'He never came home.', Kunikida finishes Dazai's story. 'We suspect that the rumor may have to do with it.' 

'Some people shouldn't be left alone with fantasy.' Atsushi says, shaking his head. 

'Hey, we don't believe in this shit.', Dazai reprimands any kind of strange thoughts Atsushi may have. 'It's just that all rumors we have encountered until now, somehow turn out to be real.'

Kunikida suddenly stands up and prepares to leave the room. 'Going out hunting again?' Fukuzawa looks up, while he gives Atsushi his Soul Gem back. 'No, I'm going home. But if there's a witch on my way I'll slay it.' 

'Okay. Take care!' Dazai waves Kunikida goodbye, who quickly exits the house. 

Fukuzawa turns to face Atsushi. 'I strengthened your Soul Gem.', he says. 'You may have noticed it. Now you can turn into a tiger without having to lose your memories.' 

Atsushi gasps. 'How did you know I was struggling with that all my life?' Fukuzawa tilts his head. 'These are the things I get to know when I strengthen Soul Gems.' he says.

* * *

'I hate to lie to my friends, and especially this young boy, but...' 

As Kunikida is making his way through the evening, he retraces the steps to Tanizaki's house. 'It once more reinforces that I have to seek him out...' 

The evening slowly turns into night, but Kunikida has not the slightest intention to go home. 'Tanizaki, if you can hear me...!', he shouts into the night. 'I'm sorry, okay! Can we go back to being friends now?'

The space around him warps, until he is unseen by other people.

* * *

The next day, Atsushi wakes up in Fukuzawa's guest room. 

'...ugh...'

Atsushi hates getting up, but mainly because it means to face another day full of dangers. 

'...was it a good choice to go to Yokohama?' he asks himself. _ Well, at least these people seem to be nice_. With that thought, he gets up and dressed.

'Ah, hi, Atsushi. You're up, I see.' Atsushi is surprised as he sees Dazai waiting for him in the hallway. 

'Were you waiting for me?' he asks. Dazai flashes a nonchalant look.

'I was actually waiting for Kunikida to arrive here. But he still isn't here so I wanted to look at how you are doing.' he says as he shrugs. 

'Oh, for the morning hunt.', Atsushi understands. 'Although I've just met him a day ago, he doesn't strike me as the person to...'

'...be late.', Dazai finishes Atsushi's sentence. 'That's true. He's a very timely man. So I don't hope he also went missing, like Tanizaki...'

'Again with the rumor stuff?', Atsushi raises his voice. 'I get it, you say you don't believe in them, but...' 

'Ssh.', Dazai hushes. 'The rumors are not true. The fact that they become real, is.' Atsushi thinks that is too cryptic and decides not to ask about it. The two head downstairs and see that Fukuzawa is already there. 

'We're going to look for Kunikida.' Dazai says. 

Fukuzawa looks up. 'I was already asking myself when he was coming, yes. No, but, that's okay. Take care.' And then he already turns around, not looking at them anymore, as Dazai and Atsushi head out.

* * *

'Do you have any idea where in this large city Kunikida could be?' Atsushi asks once they are outside. 

'Maybe.', Dazai moves his hand to his chin in thought. 'I know Kunikida longer than today. He may have retraced Tanizaki's steps as it is presumably the last road he took before disappearing.'

'And the way we're taking now is...'

'The road leading to Tanizaki's house, yes.', Dazai lets him know he guessed correctly. 'If he isn't there, we'll try something else. I know where he likes to stay when he wants to be alone, so...'

'I kind of wonder how long you have been friends, I mean, you and Kunikida. I mean, if you even know _ that_...' Atsushi says his thoughts aloud. 

'Oh, we've been friends for a very long time.', Dazai smiles. 'I haven't counted the years but...'

Dazai's sentence gets interrupted as something happens. 

'Whoa.'

'Wait, wait, wait...we're in a barrier?' Atsushi looks around him. Everything inside him says that they are in a barrier, yet it looks more like the street has been discolored. 

'This is exactly what I mean about the rumors.' Dazai says, holding up his index finger. 

'You mean this is the lair of the monster Kunikida told me about?' Atsushi asks, still wondering if it isn't just a witch. Dazai nods, as he sees two figures heading their way. 

'Kunikida!' Atsushi recognizes one of them being the same friend Dazai introduced him to the day before. He wears a green Puer Magi costume with hints of brown and black. His Soul Gem is in a ribbon on his left shoulder. In his hands are a notebook and a pen. Atsushi also sees another person, a red-haired boy wearing Puer Magi clothes colored various shades of green. His Soul Gem is on his chest. 'You must be Tanizaki, then.', Atsushi smiles. 'Nice to meet you! It's good to have you back.'

'I could say the same of you.', Kunikida says. 'Come along.' As he says that, Atsushi notices that Dazai looks less happy to see the two. It strikes him as strange, until they continue talking. 

'Yeah.', Tanizaki already starts walking. 'We need more people to clean the stairs over there.'

That sentence drops like a bombshell inside Atsushi. 'Hey, Dazai, didn't the rumor say that...' He doesn't complete that sentence, because he knows that Dazai understands it. 

'Yes.', Dazai frowns. 'They have been brainwashed by the rumor.' 

'So what do we do?' Atsushi starts to get more worried than he already was. 

'Get ready.' 

Suddenly, Tanizaki disappears in thin air. 'Watch out!' Dazai warns Atsushi, but before he fully realizes what's happening, Tanizaki stabs him in the back. 'Aargh!' Atsushi has to keep himself from falling. Dazai turns around, but Tanizaki disappears again. He clenches his teeth. 

'Are you okay, Atsushi?' Atsushi nods faintly, and then transforms too. 'I'm sorry guys, I'll make it up to you later.', he apologizes. 'But I need to do this.'

Kunikida quickly writes something down in the notebook he has been carrying with him. He rips out the paper, which transforms into a flashbang granade. 'What the...' Atsushi manages to dodge the explosion just in time. As he gets up, it dawns on him that these are the powers their contracts have given them.

While Atsushi is busy to dodge the attacks the two launch on him, Dazai seems to be doing something entirely different. 'What are you doing, Dazai? You're gonna get close to them? That will get you killed!' Atsushi shouts, but Dazai ignores them. He instead goes straight for Tanizaki, and grasps his hand, right before he is set on disappearing again. The boy gives him a shocked look, before he returns to his civilian form again. He immediately drops on the ground, unconscious. 

'...What.' Atsushi barely has time to look at what Dazai does, but he sees that this is probably Dazai's magic. 'Wait, come over here!' he shouts.

'I'm coming!'

Barely a minute later, Dazai also touches Kunikida. Just like Tanizaki before him, he reverts to his civilian form, unconscious. 'Oh, thank you.' Atsushi says.

'Let's get to the real business now. I feel something coming up.' He looks up, and Atsushi does too. Although he has no idea what Dazai means, he is ready for whatever it is.

'Look at that. I'm always right.' Dazai remarks, as the rumor comes their way. It is guarded by lesser creatures. 'How do we defeat this thing?', Atsushi asks, 'Just like normal?' Atsushi doesn't wait for an answer and rushes straight in. 

'Wait...! Atsushi...!' Dazai wants to halt him, right as Atsushi tries slashing his claws through it. It does not even leave a scratch. 'What the...'

'That is what I wanted to say.', Dazai sighs. 'Rumors are not like witches.'

'Then, how do we defeat them, smartass?', Atsushi starts to get frustrated. 'You seem to know everything.'

'Hey, don't talk to me like that.', Dazai says in a strict voice. 'Breaking up our friendship means going the same way as those two.' He points at the unconscious Kunikida and Tanizaki behind him. 

'What do we do?' Atsushi's patience starts to run out. 

'As a first, we need to combine our forces.', Dazai says, while summoning two guns. 'Rumors can only be defeated by doing the opposite.'

'So...', Atsushi thinks for a short moment. 'Instead of breaking up our friendship, we need to reinforce it?' 

'Correct!', Dazai smiles. 'Let's go!' 'Yeah!'

* * *

As Atsushi lands the last blow on the rumor, the entire space collapses. 'It's just like a barrier...', Atsushi remarks. 'But at the same time, it's not.'

'I couldn't put it better.', Dazai says while he keeps close watch on Kunikida and Tanizaki. 'These rumors aren't witches either, meaning they don't drop Grief Seeds. As such...' 

'Ah!'

Tanizaki suddenly wakes up. 'What was I doing? I was walking home, and then...' He touches his clothing. 'Why am I in civilian form?'

'It's a long story, but...take a look at your Soul Gem.' Dazai points to Tanizaki's left hand. 

'Oh...!', he says, as he sees his somewhat dirtied Soul Gem. 'That's...' 

'Bad, yes.', Dazai grabs a Grief Seed from Kunikida's stock. 'Here you go.' 

'Thank you.', Tanizaki says as he cleanses his Soul Gem. 'So why is an unconscious Kunikida here? I need to apologize to him.'

'Hang on.' Dazai says as he touches Kunikida's neck. He promptly wakes up too.

'You...!', is the first thing he says, pointing at Tanizaki. 'I'm so sorry for that argument last week! I shouldn't have brought it up in the first place.' He stands up.

'No, I need to apologize to you.', Tanizaki returns the favor. 'I shouldn't have been so angry at you. It only made things worse.' 

'Well, whoever started the argument, I think we could all go back to being friends now, right?', Dazai guesses. 'And here's a young Puer Magi I'd like you to meet.' he says to Tanizaki.

Atsushi smiles. 'I could really go for some chazuke right now...' he suggests. 

'That's good, because I know a good place down the street!', Tanizaki points to a place not that far from where they are now. 'I'm sure we will get along!' 

As the four leave the place where the rumor had been, someone is watching them from a distance. 

'Enjoy everything you have right now...', they whisper. 'You wait for me...

Shuuji.'


	3. The Awaiter's Horse

Atsushi went along to Dazai's house, which would be his temporary house too. The guest room became his, as they are now officially recognized battle partners. They spend a few days without interference from rumors, until the time came again...

Atsushi sneaks into Dazai's room, curious for Dazai's investigation concerning rumors, when he sees a file on the desk.

'Hey...what is this?'

Atsushi does not dare to touch it, but the cover alone makes him curious. It reads: 'SAKUNOSUKE ODA'. Against all of his common sense, he tries opening it, as he hears Dazai coming in.

'Ah!', Atsushi quickly turns around, as if he never saw the file in the first place. 'You're here! Sorry that I snuck into your room, but I was just curious as for your observations...'

Dazai smiles. 'Never mind all that.', he says. 'I wanted to talk to you about rumors either way.' He sits down on the bed, and Atsushi does too.

'Did you discover a new rumor or something?' Atsushi asks.

'Pfft. I wish I did.', Dazai makes a throw-away gesture. 'It's been silent, and while that's good, it doesn't bring my investigation any further. No, but what we do know about rumors can be summarized in three things.'

'Okay.', Atsushi nods. 'What are they?'

'Well.', Dazai starts his explanation. 'As a first, no one knows how exactly they are spread. Everyone gets it from hearsay. That makes it hard to exterminate their cause. Second thing is that they are not witches and do not drop Grief Seeds. They are something else entirely. The last thing is that they can probably control people.' He holds up three fingers now.

'Oh, right.', Atsushi says as he readjusts his position on the bed. 'So what are we going to do now?'

'I firstly want to call Fukuzawa to ask if he has heard of anything new. He's always more up-to-date than I am, because the contracted who come to him for his Adjusting work, come from various wards. They tend to tell him about all kinds of rumors that they hear because the Adjusting takes time, as you experienced it yourself. If he hasn't...well, I have one backup person.'

Atsushi frowns as he hears 'backup person' as if it is a thing. 'Backup person?' he asks, but does not get an answer as Dazai is already calling Fukuzawa.

'Hello, it's me. Say, I was wondering if you heard about new rumors. Do you? ...ah. Okay. Thank you anyway. See you later.'

The call is as short as Dazai's explanation. 'Let me guess. He hasn't heard of anything either?' Atsushi asks in a somewhat deadpan voice.

Dazai nods. 'Correct. I know that if he hears something new, he immediately informs me. But, it's always worth asking, and he's a very nice man. There are no new rumors according to him, so I'm going to take you to another friend of mine. He'll hopefully tell me about something new.' He stands up, and Atsushi does too.

'So, who is this friend of yours?', Atsushi asks while they are on their way. 'You sure have many friends.'

Dazai smiles. 'He's a private detective. People come to him to report crimes, which he solves. He's...pretty good at doing that.' His short summary makes Atsushi curious at this person.

As they arrive at the house of the friend Dazai told Atsushi about, Atsushi remarks: 'It would not hurt to clean this garden for a bit, I guess.' 'Haha, gardening is not his strong point.', Dazai says, and then: 'It's me!' towards the house and knocks. He whispers to Atsushi: 'The bell is out of order.'

A man opens the door some time later. He has green eyes and messy black hair. Atsushi spots a silver ring with a green gemstone in it, and guesses that this person must be a Puer Magi too.

'I had to knock because the bell was broken.' Dazai says, but the man seems to know it. Dazai whispers to Atsushi: 'He has been living here for almost his entire life, and I think I'll die before I ever see that the door bell is fixed.' Atsushi surpresses a grin.

'Come in. You came for a new case, right?' he guesses, as he gets out of the way to let Dazai and Atsushi in.

The interior of the house is just as messy as the garden around it. 'How does he live here...' Atsushi thinks and shakes his head. He doesn't want to say it outright.

The man leads Dazai and Atsushi to the living room. 'I wanted to ask you if you have heard of any new rumors.', Dazai clarifies. 'Like usual.'

'It's almost like you want to get into trouble, haha.' the man laughs. Dazai shakes his head.

'Nah. The more rumors we destroy, the more we hopefully get to know about them.' he reasons. The man nods.

'And who are you?' he points to Atsushi.

'My name is Atsushi Nakajima and I'm, as you may have noticed, new in Yokohama.', Atsushi answers. 'And who are you?'

'I'm Ranpo Edogawa, a private detective. I'm better than the police, so if you're ever witness to a crime, come to me!' he says proudly. Atsushi sighs. This could be a long conversation...

But Dazai cuts to the chase. 'Tell me. Did you spot a new rumor or not?'

'I do. Take a look at this.' Ranpo gives Dazai a folder, and he opens it. Various photo's almost roll out of the folder, and he puts everything on the dining table to organize it.

'Tell us, what is this rumor about?' Atsushi asks.

'The rumor surrounds the local shrine.', Ranpo says. 'They say that you can see someone who's gone missing in your life, again. All you have to do is enter the shrine at night. There you write their full name on an ema plaque, and poof, they will appear right there!'

Atsushi's eyes grow bright once again. 'You've done a lot of research already.', he says. 'That's nice.'

'It is all thanks to my Super Deduction!', Ranpo smiles. 'Without it, I'd probably still be in the dark.'

Dazai looks closer at the photos. 'Hmm. I think I know which shrine you mean judging by these photos. But how do we get there at night? All shrines are closed for the night if I remember correctly.'

'I'll message the local authorities. With some manipulation only I can do, they'll bat an eye.', Ranpo gestures. 'I'll do it right away.' And he picks up his phone.

'I guess I can just take this...' Dazai puts the photos back in the folder again and takes it with him.

* * *

That night, Atsushi and Dazai decide to test this rumor. On their way to the shrine, Atsushi thinks about it.

'Do you have someone to wish for?', he asks. 'I don't know if I do.'

'Yes, I have.', Dazai answers him. 'Someone I used to know very good. If it's real, I want to ask them questions.'

'Okay...', Atsushi takes that in. He thinks it's rude to ask, so he hops on to a different topic. 'That detective is really amazing. Probably because he's a Puer Magi like us.'

'He isn't.'

'What?' Atsushi gets confused all over again.

'He may look like a Puer Magi, but he isn't. He doesn't have powers. That is because he contracted with Fukuzawa and not with an incubator.'

'Contracted...with Fukuzawa?' Atsushi frowns.

'Our Adjuster has the same powers as incubators.', Dazai clarifies. 'You can contract with him, but he's human, not an incubator. The contract will be incomplete.'

'That's strange.' Atsushi knows that Dazai said that Yokohama is unusual, but he did not expect something like this.

'You'll have to learn a lot about the city yet.', Dazai says. 'Ah, there it is. Look at that. The gate is open, just like Ranpo promised.'

The two enter the shrine. 'I've not been to a shrine that often except for new year's...let alone at night.' For Atsushi, this is a unique experience.

'I'm not often found at shrines, except when I'm in kind of a pickle. And of course, at new year.'

'The ema plaques Ranpo told us about. Do you think you know where they are?' Atsushi gets back at the main reason why they are at the shrine at night to begin with. He holds up his index finger.

'Yeah, I think so. Just follow me.' Dazai starts walking, and Atsushi follows him. Even if he would not tell Atsushi to follow him, he would do it anyway.

'These are the ema plaques?' Atsushi asks, but he sees them right in front of him. He doesn't expect a question, yet Dazai answers him with 'yes'. He picks up one and starts writing a name on it. Atsushi considers picking one too, but realizes he does not have anyone who he would wish for.

'You don't got anyone to wish for?' Dazai guesses. Atsushi nods.

'Is it terrible?' He wants to make sure he is not forced into anything.

'No, it's not, but...', Dazai finishes writing. The rest of what Dazai says, goes over Atsushi's head. He can read the name of the person clearly.

SAKUNOSUKE ODA

* * *

They walk back to the main entrance of the shrine. 'So, what do you have to do now?' Atsushi looks at Dazai.

'According to the information in the folder Ranpo gave me, just like this...' He waves around the ema plaque. Atsushi has to admit that it looks kind of rediculous, but he does not want to say that aloud since it may just do something.

And then...

'You?'

A Puer Magi clothed in red appears in front of the two. He has red hair leaning to brown, and his eyes are dark blue. His red Soul Gem is placed in a four-pointed, golden star on his metaphorical third eye. His costume reminds Atsushi of those fortune-tellers on the fair. _So this is the person Dazai keeps a file about_.

'Odasaku! It's really you?' Dazai cannot surpress a slight bolt of surprise. 'You remember me, right?'

'Yes, of course I do!', Odasaku says. 'I'm your friend, remember?'

Dazai falls silent. His expression contorts. '...really? I do not remember you ever called me your friend?'

Atsushi watches the conversation go down with a certain anticipation. Since he does not know the man who Dazai calls his friend, he can't do much.

'I called you my friend, that's true. But I don't think you ever did?' Dazai starts to doubt the apparition.

'You're not a youkai, right?' Atsushi feels like interrupting. While Dazai flashes him an annoyed look, the man scowls:

'No, of course I'm not. Who do you think I am?'

Dazai loses his patience. 'Odasaku would never say that to someone younger than him!', he shouts. 'You are not Odasaku!'

At that moment, the red Puer Magi disappears. 'I sense something.' Dazai turns around, cueing Atsushi to do so too. All of a sudden, the rumor appears, along with the 'barrier'. 'There it is! Atsushi, get ready!' Atsushi and Dazai both transform and start the fight.

'Dazai, watch out!' Atsushi shouts.

'Got it!' Dazai deflects an attack with a bullet, giving him a short time to choose position again.

* * *

'Damn it. How long have we been fighting now?' Atsushi asks. He looks at his Soul Gem. It is still okay, but he's seen it having better days. Dazai does not answer as he tries to land another attack. It misses and Dazai is launched the opposite way of Atsushi. He realizes that they can't see eachother anymore now.

'Dazai!', Atsushi cries out. 'Are you okay?'

'Well, it's just...', Dazai breathes heavily, and takes his bandage over his eye off. In his hand is a very darkened Soul Gem. 'My Soul Gem...'

Atsushi's heart skips a beat. 'Dazai, no!', he says. Unable to reach Dazai, Atsushi would never be in time to give him a Grief Seed. 'You cannot give in to despair right now! There's something to live for!' He tries to keep Dazai from despairing, but he is not focused on that at all.

'It's that the rumor also grants wishes...like we do...', Dazai mutters, making Atsushi think about how to destroy the rumor. We cannot go fight with curses, right?

'What do we do?' he desperately cries.

'I don't know, Atsushi...I really...don't...know...'

'Dazai!'

But he does not react to Atsushi anymore.

'No...!'

Atsushi hears an enormous explosion. He hopes with all his heart that it is not Dazai's Soul Gem, but...

'What?'

Atsushi looks up. Dazai is there, atop some sort of torii-like creature. His hands are tied with red string, and he does not look happy at all.

'Dazai? What are you doing? What is that thing?' But Dazai does not respond. He sighs, almost tearing up, as it attacks the rumor. A storm of wish-making paper strips destroys it in one hit.

'Whew...'

The rumor disappears, along with the strange thing Dazai was using to attack just a moment ago. 'You destroyed it!', Atsushi says happily. 'But what were you doing just then?'

Dazai hides his face in his hands. 'You were not supposed to see that thing.', he mutters, barely hearable. 'Oh...this is so embarassing...why did you have to see me like that...'

'Why are you saying that? I also don't know what you were doing, but the rumor is gone now.' Atsushi tries to turn the situation to a positive light. As Dazai removes his hands from his face, Atsushi can see that he is red and on the verge of crying.

'I...I just wanna get out of here. Real fast.' He shakes his head and averts his gaze. Showing his Soul Gem, Atsushi sees that it is clear again. _Huh, so he does have a vulnerable side after all_.

Atsushi suddenly notices something on the ground. 'Hey, there's blood here. Is it yours, or...' But before he can finish his sentence, he gets attacked by bolts of magical energy from the blood. 'Hey...!'

'You!'

A Puer Magi appears, halting Dazai and Atsushi. They look up. He has light grey hair and grey eyes, and his costume is a mix between white, red, and gold. Like Odasaku, his red Soul Gem is between his eyes.

'You are a witch!', he says as he points at Dazai. 'I know your games. Don't think I'm some random Puer Magi. My name is Nathaniel Hawthorne and I'm tired of your kind.' Dazai does not budge, but rather bites away tears. The man slices his hand with a glass shard, and then attacks Dazai with his blood magic.

'Look out...!' Atsushi warns him, but Dazai still doesn't move. The magic simply disappears when it touches him. 'You're...', Nathaniel clenches his teeth. 'Well, you completely messed up my night. I'm going to tell the government!' He runs away. If this would have happened in another situation, Dazai would shout something back, but he is not in the mood to.

'It's clear that you don't want to talk about it, and that's okay.', Atsushi accepts it. 'But another thing. Uh...can I live with you for the time being? I'm pretty broke, and I can't afford a house...'

Dazai is happy enough to talk about something else. 'Of course you can!', he smiles again, but still has watery eyes. 'We're battle partners now.'

'Yeah, you sure are...'

The same person is observing Dazai and Atsushi again, and watches them walk away.

'No puppet strings can hold me down. Patiently, I watch this town. Abnormal will soon be the norm. Enjoy the calm before the storm!'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm looking forward to introduce the character that watches Dazai. I've been teasing them for too long lmao. It will happen real soon! Bonus: 
> 
> Doppel of restriction. Its form is fate. The master of this emotion is heavily troubled by the implications of it lingering in his heart, and feels nothing but embarrassment towards it. It will find every loose thread of fate, grab it and connect it to an existing one, something its master absolutely loathes because it is unable to change his own fate. However, it is able to bring massive ruin upon its opponents without hurting them directly, something still left from the person in its masters life it keeps reminding him of.


	4. The Misery Rhyton

'If I look at it like that...yeah. We do have a lot of things we do not yet know.'

Dazai and Atsushi are standing in front of an enormous cork board in the living room. They gathered every bit of information concerning the rumors and pinned it to the board. A map of Yokohama forms the centerpiece. A list of questions hangs next to it.

'But either way, it was a good idea of yours, to gather it like this.', Atsushi says. 'Everytime we enter the living room, we'll get back to this topic.' He looks out of the window. 'Looks like it's a real hot summer, huh.' Dazai also looks out of the window.

'Looks like it, yes.', he says. 'Do you want to get me some water? I could lend you some money.'

'Yes, but I don't need the money. I've heard of a vendor who is new in town. They give it for free!' Although Dazai hadn't yet accepted it, Atsushi already prepares to head out.

'Okay. Take care, right?'

'Will do!' And Atsushi exits the house.

He finds the vendor quickly after. 'Thank you so much!' he thanks the vendor as he suddenly feels something on his head after having bought the water. He moves his hand to his head, and sees that it is a piece of paper. The number '24' is on it. 'Huh. What is this?'

His voice startles two other customers. One of them is a girl with black hair tied in two long pigtails. The other is a woman with dyed blue hair. The two are also holding a paper in their hands, and a bottle of water they got.

'I got one too.' the girl says.

'Looks like it.' the woman holds her paper up, showing the number '24' on it too.

'Hey, you got the same?' Atsushi gets confused all over again.

'What could this be...' the woman moves her hand to her chin in thought.

'I have no idea, I'm new in town.', Atsushi shrugs. 'But I need to get going. Bye!' And he runs off.

At home, Dazai sees Atsushi arriving. He opens the door.

'Hey, Dazai. I've got good news and slightly-bad-news.' Atsushi gives the water to Dazai.

'What is it?'

'I got the water. But I also got this. Take a look.' He holds the paper in his other hand, and Dazai grabs it.

'Hmm...'

'I wasn't the only one.', Atsushi goes on. 'There were two other customers who also got the water and a paper with '24' on it.'

Dazai is still in thought, until another paper falls on Atsushi's head. 'Hey.' He picks it up and shows it to Dazai. The paper is virtually the same as the first, except '23' is now on it.

'Hey...', Dazai frowns. 'This is a countdown.'

* * *

As Atsushi wakes up the next day, his hands go over something that's not the bed he is lying in. 'Huh.' He quickly opens his eyes and grabs whatever it is. 'That's a lot.'

In his hands, are several more papers, in decreasing order. He gets dressed and takes them with him as he goes downstairs.

'Dazai! Look what I found when I woke up this morning!' Atsushi lays the pieces of paper in front of Dazai, who is having breakfast at the dining table. He stops eating for a moment and takes a closer look at them.

'The first one fell when you got the water, right?', Dazai looks up from the papers at Atsushi, who nods. 'Could you go back to where the vendor was yesterday?'

'Sure. But first I'll have breakfast.'

* * *

As Atsushi finishes retracing the way he went the day before, he sees something unpleasant.

'Just like I thought...the vendor is nowhere to be found, of course.' Only the girl who he saw yesterday, is still there.

'Ah, you also went to get an explanation on these?' he asks her and shows her the papers.

'Yes, I did, but...', the girl shrugs. 'They're gone now.' She looks away as she senses something. 'Sorry, I need to go.'

Being the only lead, Atsushi runs after her. The girl transforms. 'You're a magical girl?' he asks.

'Yes I am.' she says in a deadpan voice. A barrier entrance appears in front of her. 'Do not interfere.'

'But-'

'Do not interfere.' The girl repeats what she said and she summons a phantom behind her, scaring Atsushi.

'Ah! You're right! I should really get goin'!' Atsushi decides to turn tail and go back to Dazai's house.

As he walks back, his tiger senses feel something. 'Am I being followed...?' He stops and looks back. He doesn't see anyone, but senses magic trails he does not recognize. 'Come out!' he shouts. He turns around, and quickly sees that he is right - men wearing suits run away.

'...where are they going to?' he thinks and chases after them. However, he quickly loses sight of them as they appear to enter an underground parking lot.

'Dazai! I tried, but the vendor is gone!' is the first thing he blurts out once he gets home.

'Calm down, Atsushi.', Dazai says. 'Why are you so out of breath?'

Dazai sits down on the sofa. 'So when I came there, only the girl from yesterday was there.'

'Girl from yesterday?'

'Yes, one of the other customers who also got the papers.', Atsushi explains. 'A girl with long black hair tied in long pigtails. She has these dull blue eyes.'

'Then I think I know her. But go on.' Dazai scratches his head.

'She suddenly ran away and it turns out that she sensed a witch. So yeah, she's a Puella Magi. I wanted to ask her, but she said that I could not interfere. Dunno what it was. I decided to give up because she summoned this huge phantom.' Atsushi gestures to illustrate his point better.

'Hm-hm.', Dazai says. 'Did she come after you?'

'No.', Atsushi goes on. 'But other people did. Men dressed in black suits. I discovered them and chased them back. They went into an underground parking lot. Then I went back.'

'That's quite the story.', Dazai grabs the papers from the table, and pins them on the corkboard together. 'But like I said, I know that girl.' He then picks up his phone and shows Atsushi a picture.

'That's her, yes.' Atsushi confirms.

'This is Izumi Kyouka. She's from the mafia. I presume she's forced to kill for them and spread rumors. Her Demon Snow is doing that. She had to do with some rumors I encountered in the past.'

'Oh...and she's involved now too, I guess.' Atsushi says, still a little surprised that Dazai knows her. 'Then those men were from the mafia.' Dazai nods, just as he sees an incoming call.

'It's Fukuzawa. I have to take this.' He stands up and takes the call.

'Hey. Oh, okay. Ah, it's about that? Because we just got some. Yes, we will. We'll get to the bottom of this like always. Thank you, bye!'

After the short call, he looks back at Atsushi. 'The water vendor is a rumor, just like I thought from Kyouka's involvement.'

'What?'

'They say that when you get this water, in 24 hours, you will suffer enormous misery. That's what the countdown is for.' He holds up one of the papers.

'But if the vendor is gone, where could it be?' Atsushi asks.

'You said that they went into the underground parking lot, right?', Dazai says. 'We could take a look.'

'Why would they go in there?'

Atsushi and Dazai retrace the steps from earlier that day. 'My best guess is that the rumor is underground.', Dazai says. 'And-'

Dazai suddenly bumps into a woman coming from the right, and quickly apologizes. 'I'm so sorry, miss. Are you okay?'

As she gets up, Atsushi recognizes her. 'Hey, I think I've seen you before.', he says. 'You also got the free water yesterday, didn't you?'

The woman nods. 'Yes, now you say it. I saw you yesterday too. I was on my way to the underground parking lot.'

'We're going there too.', Dazai says. 'It's a long story, but-'

'I know of it. It's the water vendor rumor.', she says, surprising Atsushi. 'I think it's in order for me to introduce myself.' She transforms.

'You're a Puella Magi like her?' Atsushi asks.

'Yes. My name is Tsujimura Mizuki, and I am from the government.' She flashes a card. Atsushi looks at Dazai. He said that the government had a hand in Yokohama, but this is the first person from the government he meets. She is wearing a Puella Magi costume consisting of various tints of blue, with a black hood and somewhat low cleavage.

Right at that moment, another paper falls from the sky on Atsushi's head. 'I'm getting tired of this...' he says as he grabs it again. 'Four?' He shows it to the other two, who see that the number has decreased to four.

'That means we've got four hours before the misery comes.', Tsujimura says. 'I was heading to the underground parking lot because I think the rumor's there. We've got to hurry!' And she runs off. Dazai and Atsushi follow her.

'This is it, I'm sure. This is where I lost them.', Atsushi says as they find the entrance. 'Let's get in.'

'You're right.' Dazai and Tsujimura step down, and notice that it goes down very far.

'This is not a parking lot.', Tsujimura says. 'That matches my hunch. Let's see.' The lower they go, the more men in suits they encounter. Tsujimura fends them off using shadow magic.

* * *

The three go down all the way, until they reach the lowest point. 'This should be on the level of the sewers.', Dazai remarks. 'I don't know if this is actually part of the sewers, but...'

Suddenly, they hear someone behind them.

'So, we meet again.'

The three turn around, and they see a Puer Magi clothed in a black and red costume. His hair is short and black, with white tips. His red Soul Gem is on the back of his left hand and his eyes are the blackest Atsushi has ever seen. A shiver goes down his spine as he sees them.

'Akutagawa Ryuunosuke.', Dazai recognizes. 'You didn't change at all since the last time I saw you.'

'Shut up.' he says as he forms some sort of spike out of his clothing, impaling Atsushi.

'Atsushi!' Tsujimura quickly rushes to his aid.

'I'll...heal...' he tries saying. Tsujimura flashes an angry glare at Akutagawa. She sends her shadows to deal with him, and he parries with similar magic. Together, the two clash without ever touching each other. Dazai fires a few bullets, one of them hitting Akutagawa's leg. He flinches, making an opening for Tsujimura to attack. She hits him full on his left shoulder, and sees his darkened Soul Gem.

'Your Soul Gem, it's...' She's not the person to sympathize with enemies, but she still feels the need to say it.

'I know.', Akutagawa says. He flashes a grin, and then looks up with an expression of mania.

'Come out, my beautiful Doppel!'

Right as Atsushi finishes healing back, Akutagawa transforms. Above and surrounding him is a strange creature, replacing his left hand and the top half of his face.

'Aah!' Atsushi flinches. Dazai flinches too, but does not sport any surprise or fear. Tsujimura clenches her teeth and prepares to attack again. Akutagawa simply smiles. 'You can try what you want, but Nyx will burn you all~!' And he is right - as soon as her shadows hit the red spider threads, they burn as if they were solid. Tsujimura lets loose a small growl under her breath.

'You're doing the same as Dazai did back then!' Atsushi remarks. At that remark, Tsujimura gasps.

'So you are the witch person they told me about in the government!' she says.

Dazai shrugs. 'Could be.' He fires another round of bullets.

Atsushi does his best to stay strong and not hide behind Dazai. 'You're...missing half of your face and your hand?' he says, still trembling.

'So what~?' Akutagawa asks rhetorically.

'Dazai wasn't.' Atsushi says, and then turns to face Dazai. 'Come on! You also did something like this, right?'

On the indirect mention of the incident at the shrine, Dazai is fully back to the state he was in when he left. 'Do _not_ bring that up!', he says tearfully. 'It's not a special move or anything!' Atsushi wonders why he is so embarassed over it, but doesn't want to escalate the situation.

'No matter how much I hate to say it, he is right~!', Akutagawa keeps talking on a casual, somewhat cooing tone while the creature fused with his body is enough to hold his enemies off. 'It uses up all taint in our Soul Gems~! It is something we discovered a long time ago, and we have decided to call it 'Doppel' for the time being~!' He dodges another attack from a very frustrated Tsujimura. 'People who acknowledge grief in their hearts, fuse with it, like me~!' _So that means that..._

Akutagawa's dodge makes a momentary gap, and Dazai takes it full. With a touch of his index finger, everything disappears. As Akutagawa tries to break his fall, he growls. '...you.' is the only thing he says. Contrasting to his lines from before, he says it in a broken, harsh voice. Dazai points a gun to him.

'Remember?', he says. 'I said, that next time, I will shoot you with five bullets instead.' Akutagawa flashes an angry glare at him, and then disappears into the darkness.

'What was that all about? Do you know that prick?' Atsushi asks Dazai once they start walking again. Dazai shakes his head.

'I don't wanna talk about it.', he says. 'And most of all, do _not_ bring _that_ up!' It is the first time that Atsushi has ever seen Dazai that angry. In an ironic twist of fate, the more Dazai says Atsushi not to bring it up, the more curious he gets. But he knows that the time to ask may not yet be there.

* * *

Out of pure tension hanging in the air, no word is said the next few minutes. Until...

'Ouch!' A rock falls on Dazai's head, only surviving due to built-in durability. 'What was that for?' He looks up.

'That must be a sign we're getting close to the - argh!' Atsushi tries to speak, when another rock barely misses him. 'Oof. If I did not have my tiger senses, that would hurt!' Tsujimura looks at Atsushi.

'If these rocks are guarding that rumor, you may be the only one able to defeat it.' Atsushi feels his heart sink again. He has never destroyed a rumor on his own yet.

'That reminds me. The timer?'

Tsujimura quickly unfolds a paper she finds on the ground. 'Oh no.' She shows it to the others. Only a 1 is on the paper now. 'Let's go!' And she is once again the one who runs away, and Dazai and Atsushi follow.

Due to Tsujimura's rush forward, the three find the rumor soon. But...

'Kyouka!' In the lair of the rumor, Atsushi sees a familiar girl. She stands in front of the rumor, as if guarding it, and behind her is her trusty phantom swordswoman. But this time, Atsushi doesn't run away. 'Kyouka!' he says again, but she does not react. 'Eh?'

Dazai squints. 'She's in the same state as Kunikida and Tanizaki were. My guess is that she wanted the quit the mafia, and that they left her to be consumed by the rumor.'

'So what do we do?' Atsushi asks.

'I'll go deal with her.', Dazai does not even wait for Atsushi's approval and goes straight for her. 'You and Tsujimura go for the rumor. Tsujimura, you can use your shadows to distract the rumor from Atsushi. You don't have to get close that way. Atsushi, you go rush in and avoid the rocks!'

Atsushi nods once as Tsujimura prepares for attack too. Dazai tosses a Grief Seed her way, so that she can replenish the magic she used to fight against Nyx. She quickly uses it on her Soul Gem, then spreads her shadows all over the lair. Although they are not entirely solid, Atsushi jumps up, using them as a ledge to get further, while dodging the rocks.

'Tsujimura, the rocks are guarding the rumor!', he remarks. 'Everytime I wanna get close, they hit me!' He looks down at Tsujimura, because he is standing above the ground. She does not talk back, but uses her shadows to repel the rocks falling from above. 'Thank you!'

Dazai, meanwhile, tries to get close to Kyouka. 'Come on...' He knows that it is difficult, but he clenches his Soul Gem in his hand to be less vulnerable. If Atsushi manages to slay the rumor, he does not have to nullify her anymore. But...

'Incoming!' Dazai suddenly looks up at Atsushi, who decided to dive-bomb himself towards the rumor. However, Dazai sees immediately that they are standing too close to the rumor, and that they may get hurt or killed too with the force he is diving at. He ties his Soul Gem to his eye again and then ducks towards Kyouka, pushing her out of the way, and impaling him with the sword of the phantom.

As Atsushi lands, the rumor disappears. 'Ah...' Another paper falls on his head. He opens it, and instead sees the word 'CONGRATULATIONS' on it. He smiles.

'Well...done.' Dazai tries to say. It is then that Atsushi sees that Dazai is injured.

'Dazai!' he shouts, and tries to help him get up.

'Don't...worry...' he points at his Soul Gem. Although it is a bit dirty, it is still there. Atsushi is not relieved in the slightest.

'What do we do?' he asks.

'I...know a healer.', Dazai points up. 'Would you...please call Yosano Akiko...for me?' He tosses Atsushi his phone, who starts searching her.

'Ah, there she is. Let's get out of here.', Atsushi meanwhile prepares to head back. Because Dazai is still stuck on the sword of Demon Snow, Kyouka can't do much but go back too.

* * *

'Hey, miss...', she whispers to Tsujimura, who looks at her. 'You're from the government, right?'

Tsujimura nods. 'Yes, I am. Why are you asking me that?'

'I...uh.', Kyouka sighs. 'Dazai must've told you, but...I wanna get out of here. I mean, in general.', Her voice has lowered to a whisper. 'I don't want to work for the mafia anymore and spread rumors.'

'I'm sorry, but you have to ask Dazai for that.', Tsujimura says. 'It is his cause to exterminate rumors. He also knows an Adjuster. I noticed that you've got rudimentary control over Demon Snow and he could fix that.' Kyouka nods.

'I see you got yourself in trouble again. No worries, I can fix you up.'

As they exit the sewers, Yosano is waiting for them. Dazai already changed back into his civilian form to prevent her powers being nullified on touch. In no time, he looks like if nothing happened.

'Ah, Dazai, I wanted to ask you.', Kyouka grabs the opportunity once he is healed. 'Can I join your cause? I'm so fed up with this spreading rumor business. I promise not to turn my back on you or something!' While they start walking back to Dazai's house, she pleads to join him.

'...sure.', Dazai says. 'You can be a valuable asset to us all.'

'Yeah, plus, in my career of spreading rumors, I may be strong enough to destroy them, too.' Kyouka nods.

'It's settled, then.', Dazai smiles. 'Don't worry, I have enough room in my house. Atsushi's already living there, but I don't mind you.'

Tsujimura enters some text in her phone, and then speaks up. 'I'm happy for you, Kyouka.', she says. 'I wish you a good future.'

'Thank you.', Kyouka says modestly. 'I'll be sure to-'

Kyouka cannot finish her sentence as Dazai halts abruptly. Atsushi almost loses his balance. 'What are you doing?' he asks.

'Odasaku?'

And indeed. The same red Puer Magi is standing in front of Dazai. 'Are you for real? I thought you were dead!' Dazai's eyes grow bright. Odasaku smiles.

'It's been a long time since I last saw you, Shuuji. You've definately changed.'

'Shuuji?' Atsushi frowns, but Dazai ignores him.

'Yes, I have.', Dazai says, still a bit dazed. 'In fact, it was your death that sparked me to it.'

From this small conversation, Atsushi realizes that there is a lot about Dazai he does not yet know.

'You wanted to meet me again?', Dazai asks him. 'You're welcome to drink some coffee at my house, if you want.'

'Thanks for the offer, but...' Odasaku's expression changes.

'You have to go on another hunt tonight, don't you? Don't worry, you can come to me any time. We have a lot to talk about.' Dazai shrugs.

'It's not that...', Odasaku says as he looks down. Then, he cracks an evil grin.

'It's that I've joined the Rats in the House of the Dead.'

'WHAT?'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BAM! The cat's out of the bag! But be warned, this cat may have kittens...
> 
> Bonus:
> 
> Doppel of desire. Its form is an obscured sufferer. Sacrificing his left hand and top half of his face when summoning it, its master is rendered blind while using this doppel, but he isn't bothered by this at all. The many spider web-like threads it consists of are sure to entangle any target and then set it ablaze with the ever burning flame on its body, fueled by the eternal longing its master possesses. Anyone who gets a hold on these threads, is sure to burn forever. As soon as it is summoned, it won't hesitate to eliminate anything standing in its way, and it has a reputation of being unnecessarily cruel while doing so, regularly maiming already dead enemies. And although he can't even see what it looks like, its master only feels something of a maniacal ecstasy towards it, a trembling excitement. This change to a one-track-mind every time it is summoned is likely the cause of the overtly cruel character of this doppel. The allies of said master think of that as something positive, however...


	5. The Anonymous AI

Two Puer Magi meet eachother in the port of Yokohama. 

'So you are the one tracking him down?' Akutagawa says.

'I never said that.', Hawthorne frowns. 'I only saw him once. Nothing more, and nothing less.'

'Let's get this over with quickly.' The Puer Magi in black prepares to attack.

* * *

'...and this. So. Now the cork board is all caught up.' Dazai adds a few new pieces to the ever-growing board of information. 

'Is it me, or did you add more than you removed?' Atsushi sighs. He gets the feeling that they aren't getting any closer to the cause of the rumors. 

'Could be just you.', Dazai looks at him, then walks towards him to see the full cork board too. 'But you're right. Every rumor we exterminate, just leads to more and more questions. Including why he's at the Rats.' 

'Who or what is the 'Rats' anyway?' Atsushi points at the board. 

'I don't know exactly.', Dazai sits down in the sofa. 'But I have a hunch that they are also involved in this business.'

Kyouka, who is messing around with a Rubik's Cube, speaks up. 'Some mafia lackeys talk about them. But it was never clear as to what the Rats are.'

'Well, that doesn't bring us any further, does it.' Atsushi reinforces his point. But then, the door bell rings. 

'I'll get it.' Dazai already stands up and walks to the door. Curious, Atsushi follows him.

'Dazai! I got a brand new rumor!', Ranpo holds a folder in front of Dazai, who grabs it. 'You've been waiting for this, right?'

'Calm down.', Dazai says. 'Come in, and explain what this rumor's all about. I got an entire entourage now. Someone joined our cause.' That spikes Ranpo's interest, and he follows Dazai inside after closing the door.

A few moments later, the group is gathered in the living room. 'So, tell us what this rumor is all about.' Dazai prepares to listen, and gives Ranpo the folder back.

'Gladly.', he starts as he opens the folder. 'Okay, so this rumor concerns the radio tower. Y'all know where that is, right?' He looks around, and sees that everyone nods. Then he goes on. 'The rumor says that when you're there, you can hear a young boy's voice carried by the wind. It is not clear what it says. Some people say that they are cries for help, but according to others, it sounds like he is having fun.'

'Hmm.', Kyouka thinks. 'Food for thought, sure.' 

'I'll pin this to the board. Thank you.', Dazai promises Ranpo. 'I don't know if we have to get into the radio tower to destroy this rumor, but I've never heard of people being part of the rumor, let alone a young boy.'

Ranpo shrugs. 'I don't know, but what I do know is that this is probably a genuine rumor we should take seriously.' 

That night, Atsushi is still on his phone. Although Dazai told him not too, he is still busy with playing a game when he suddenly gets a notification. 

'...a Discorpse notification...?' His eyes, filled with sleep, are trying to make out what it is. He quickly sees that it is a private message, but strangely enough, both the avatar and the name of the sender appears to be a blank space.

_ Today at 23:05 _

can you save me please

He looks at it for a bit, but then turns his phone off and decides to go sleep. '...probably another prank again...'

* * *

'Oh.'

The next morning, Dazai is already up as Atsushi arrives downstairs. 'What's the matter, Dazai?' he asks.

'Ranpo has news for us involving this new rumor. He calls it the 'Denpa boy'. Apparently the news is so big that he is waiting for us at this cafe. He also asked me to bring Kunikida, Yosano and Tanizaki, so...' He shows Atsushi the cafe Ranpo is in. 

'Oh, I think I know that place.', Atsushi says. 'I'm curious as to what he wants to tell us...'

Several minutes later, the entire group, consisting of seven people, is sitting down in the cafe. The group is so big that the waiters had to move some chairs and tables. Ranpo is sitting at the head.

'I'll cut to the chase. All night, I've been investigating the source of the rumor. And this morning, I found it - it's this page.' He shows the page on his phone, and the others try to take a look at it. It is a pure blank page with one typing box. 

'And you couldn't go on?' Yosano clarifies.

'No. This page is locked. I need a password to get in.', he says. 'And because I cannot do it on my own, I wanted to ask your help.'

'Did you try brute forcing it?' Tanizaki asks, and then takes another sip of his drink.

Ranpo nods. 'I did, the entire night.', he says. 'But nothing is working.'

'Hmm.', Kunikida finishes his bite. 'I know someone who may help. He's a Puer Magi who can control all electronics in view. He could help us hack the page.'

'And this Puer Magi lives in Yokohama, right?' Ranpo just wants to make sure he doesn't have to take the train.

'Yes, he does. I know his house.', Kunikida says. 'We could go there once we're finished.'

'Hey, talking about encountering things you cannot deal with on your own...', Tanizaki turns his phone on and taps in a few directions. 'I've got these strange messages lately on Discorpse.' Like Ranpo, he shows his phone screen. Atsushi's heart skips a beat once he notices that Tanizaki got Discorpse messages from the same sender as his. He tries not to let it show.

Dazai grabs Tanizaki's phone, and then looks at it. 'Hmm. I wonder if this is part of the rumor...' Once he has seen all of the messages he gives it back. Atsushi notices that they are of a similar kind as of the message he got.

'Why do I get the idea this is just an excuse to have a meal together...?' Atsushi whispers to Dazai, who is sitting next to him. Dazai smiles.

'He doesn't live that far from here.', Kunikida says once they are on their way. 'He's kind of a shut-in, but not a hikikomori. It's not that exteme. I sometimes give him a Grief Seed. We've known eachother for quite some time now.' 

* * *

And he is right. Not long after, Kunikida halts in front of a house. 'It's here.', He gently touches the door, and notices that it is open. 'The door's unlocked. Huh.' He walks in, and Atsushi and Dazai follow. Not wanting to cause a lot of noise when they get in, the rest waits patiently until they can go in. 

'Katai?' 

The house is messy, but Kunikida does not seem to mind. 'Where are you?' And indeed: Atsushi and Dazai do not see anybody. 'I sense his magic trail, but he is not here.', Kunikida frowns. 'Let's follow it.' As he walks in, he crosses the rest.

'What's happening?' Yosano asks.

'Katai's not home. But I sense him. We're going to follow his trail.' Those simple words are enough for the group to follow him. 

Kunikida quickly finds his way to lead the group, being the one who walks in front. 'This is more than he ever walks in a week. That's not the only thing. I sense that his trail is intermingled with something I distrust strongly.' 

'Oh no...' Tanizaki sighs.

'This is the way to the radio tower.', Dazai remarks. 'Is it possible that the rumor got to him before us?' 

Kunikida doesn't want to believe that. 'He could wreak havoc with that tower if the rumor indeed got to him...'

* * *

And indeed, the trail stops in the radio tower. The group carefully enters it, and keep following Kunikida. As they reach the top...

'Katai!' Kunikida shouts. A man with black hair wrapped in a futon is standing right there. However, he sports a familiar dead glare. He does not respond to Kunikida either.

'Look at that!', Atsushi points to a mark in Katai's neck. 'A witch got to him!' Kunikida holds up his Soul Gem in front of him, and an entrance appears. 

'Ready?'

* * *

'Phew. We're back...'

With so many magical energy, the group beats the witch posessing Katai easily. He slowly comes back to his senses.

'Katai!', Kunikida once again calls out his friend's name. 'Are you okay?'

'I'll manage...I guess.', He is still a bit dazy, but conscious. 'Why are you all here?' 

'That's a long story, but the gist of it is that we need you to hack a website.', Atsushi explains to him as they walk out of the tower. 'The website is the source of a rumor that has to do with this tower. We've tried brute forcing it, but we decided that it may be better to let you hack it.' 

At home, Katai opens up the page Ranpo told him the url of. 'It is just like you said. It's locked with a password. I can probably hack it...' he says as he enters some code, and then the screens in front of him come alive with a lot of green text on black backgrounds. And a bit later...

'Hmmm. This is harder than I thought. I'm getting repelled by something resembling witch magic.' Katai says as the screens stop.

'That must be the rumor doing its work.', Dazai explains. 'Keep trying. I trust you.' 

Katai nods. 'For you, I'll do anything.', he says. 'I'll just send you a message once I get in. Okay?' 

'That is okay. Thank you for your help!' Kunikida thanks Katai while heading out. 

As he walks out too, Atsushi sees his phone screen light up. He picks it up. 'Another Discorpse message...?'

_ Today at 15:46 _

please save me

this is something only a magical boy like you can do

* * *

The next day, Atsushi, Dazai, Ranpo and Kyouka meet up in the same bar as the day before. 

'No. I haven't got anything back from Kunikida yet, so I assume that Katai is still busy cracking the site.' Dazai shrugs. It is of course not the thing he hoped to say this day.

'Hmm. In that case, we will just keep waiting.', Atsushi says. 'And...hey. Isn't that the prick we fought in the sewers?' He looks up and sees a familiar black dressed-person. 

Kyouka also looks in Atsushi's direction. 'You're right, yes, that's him.', she says. 'He was my superior...' 

As if he knows he is being mentioned, he stands up and walks to the countertop. Atsushi can hear what he is saying. 'Give me something that is not bleach water this time, idiot.', he demands. 'And fast.' 

The shivering employer at the countertop gives him something. 'Y-your usual, sir...' 

'This is _ not _ my usual! What is this shit, are you new here or something!' Akutagawa lashes out as a colleague shows up. 

'Sir, please calm down...' 

Akutagawa quickly uses his magic to steal the money that's in the clothes of the employer that showed up, then runs. 'Hey!' 

Atsushi reacts as if stung by a bee and runs after Akutagawa. 'Atsushi!' Dazai stands up and follows Atsushi. 

'Hold it right there!' Atsushi does not want to transform since he is in public and instead taps on the shoulder of a passerby. 'I'm so sorry, but I'm chasing after a black-dressed man who just robbed the bar! Please help me!' The passerby, a girl with red hair and green eyes, does not hesitate and runs with Atsushi after Akutagawa.

They chase Akutagawa into an alley. Now out of the public, Atsushi transforms and pins Akutagawa down. Dazai is quick enough to grab his arm, preventing him from using magic. 'You're a magical boy?' she recognizes. Atsushi nods, and she then transforms. 'Oh...' she says.

'Tell me. What is the name of the boy who is trapped in the radio tower?' Dazai asks. He bends Akutagawa's arm, and Atsushi swears he hears bones snapping. 

'Aaahhrgh...it's...Miyazawa Kenji...' 

Atsushi retrieves the money from the bar personnel, and Dazai quickly lets him go. 'That's all I wanted to know.', he says. 'We have a name.' He slams his fist on his flat hand.

'I'm so sorry, but what do you mean with the boy trapped in the radio tower?' the red-haired girl frowns and tilts her head in confusion.

'We'll explain later.', Atsushi says. 'We've got to bring this back to where it belongs.' 

Once they are back in the bar, Atsushi returns the money to the personnel, that thanks him. Meanwhile, Dazai explains everything to the girl. 

'Well, I guess it's my turn now.', she says. 'My name is Lucy Maud Montgomery. I'm so happy to have met some other contracted people, because I'm looking for a Puer Magi that went missing. I don't know if you know him, but he is 27 years old, has grey hair and uses blood magic.'

Until she mentions that last bit, Dazai stays unresponsive. 'Nathaniel Hawthorne?', he recognizes. 'He attacked me some time ago. But now he has gone missing?'

Lucy nods. 'We were part of an old organization from overseas that's gone the way of the dodo. But if you were the last one to see him...' Ranpo grows interested, since investigation is his specialty.

'Atsushi and me were, to be exact. We can tell you more, but not here.' Dazai stands up and prepares to head out. Just then, Atsushi's phone lights up again.

_ Today at 14:56 _

please save the boy i have confined here

please erase me

* * *

At home, the five sit down again. 'Would you like coffee, or tea?' Kyouka asks her. Ever since she has come to live with Dazai, she more or less started to behave like she's his maid. And although she knows she's not, she's just very thankful that she can live in with people who want what's best for her. 

'Just a glass of water.', Lucy says. 'And hey, I see that you have been observing Yokohama. What's that about?'

'You are right. These have to do with rumors that somehow turn real. Dazai has been on their track for god knows how long.', Ranpo explains to her. 'The recent one has to do with a young boy's voice carried by the wind around the radio tower. There is probably a young boy kept by a rumor and we try to figure out how we can save this boy.' 

'Yes, and we just got a name.' Dazai grabs a marker and writes:

KENJI MIYAZAWA

'Uh...about that...', Atsushi holds up his hand. 'I have something to confess. Look at this.' 

He finally decides to show the Discorpse messages he got over the past few days. Dazai reads them aloud. 'Can you save me...please save me...this is only something a magical boy like you can do?' He looks up. 'It knows you're a Puer Magi.' he concludes. 

'Since it told me about a boy it has confined, and Tanizaki also go these messages, I really doubt if this is a prank.' Atsushi says. 

'Have you tried messaging back?'

That suggestion of Lucy drops like a bombshell. 'Messaging back? But won't we fall into its trap that way?' Kyouka asks. Dazai shrugs. 'We could try it.'

**tiger cub **_Today_ _ at 15:13 _

im sorry but who is this???

'I just asked who they are. They seem to be online, so...' he says. 

_ Today at 15:13 _

i am an AI residing in the radio tower

please save the boy who is here

'They say that they are an AI in the radio tower.', Atsushi looks up. Dazai keeps updating the cork board. 'What should I say?'

'Ask if they are real. If they have Kenji there indeed.', Ranpo says after thinking for a bit. 'It could be an impersonator who's pretending to be an AI.' 

'That's a good idea. I'll ask that.' 

**tiger cub ** _Today at 15:14 _

are you really holding a boy named miyazawa kenji there??

can you send me some proof??

'Okay, I said it. It's still online, so...' The others are eagerly waiting with Atsushi for a response. And some time later...

_Today at 15:15 _

okay i can

i have send a footage of kenji to you

do not worry i am not capable of creating viruses

'It has send some footage of him to me.', Atsushi lowers his phone. 'To prove Kenji's there.' 

'Let's take a look at it.' Dazai finishes updating the cork board and then makes time to watch this footage. Atsushi opens it and a boy comes in view. He has blue eyes and golden hair, and he seems to be fine. He is in a strange sort of space that looks like it is entirely made of data. Next to him is what Atsushi seems to be the AI, taking a form of a green-haired girl.

'why are you staying here?' it asks him. Kenji smiles.

'Look, I think he's okay?', Kyouka comments. 'At least...'

'Well...', Kenji says. 'I like it here. The silence kind of reminds me of the place where I come from. The people in the city are so noisy. They don't understand me. I'm just trying to be nice! You're the first one who I can be nice to.' 

Atsushi pauses the footage. 'That gives us a new insight on it.', Dazai says, and goes right back to updating the cork board. 'Maybe he doesn't want to be saved. But this is a rumor that needs to be erased, so...' 

He continues the footage. 

'but i am not real.', the AI utters. 'i am not a real person. how can you say you like being with something that is not even a real person?' 

Kenji shrugs. 'Dunno. I hang around with cows all the time, and they're not people too. So it's kind of similar, I guess? I don't mean that as if I am degrading you to the level of a cow, though. You're smart. I just think the feeling's similar.'

'kenji. i am a rumor. i cannot keep you here forever. eventually i will not be able to hold myself in and i am strong enough to attack you. and yet, you are not scared?' Although he hears the warning of the rumor loud and clear, Kenji keeps smiling. 

'I know that.', he says. 'We people hang out with animals who used to be predators all the time. We even pet them. So no, I am not at all scared of you.' And then, he transforms. 'After all, I am a Puer Magi. But I will not kill you.' 

And then, the footage ends.

_Today at 15:21 _

and

are you convinced?

**tiger cub ** _Today at 15:21 _

yes we are, thank you!!

say, what do we need to do to save him?

'Well, that cleared up a lot.', Dazai says while he removes some stuff from the cork board. 'He's a Puer Magi. Who would've thought? And it's a shame that people keep treating him like shit. He seems real nice.' 

Then, the rumor answers.

_ Today at 15:22 _

come to the radio tower and jump off it at its highest point

you will then enter my realm and save kenji

'Ah?' Atsushi utters as the AI goes offline. He looks up. 'According to the AI, we have to jump off the radio tower in order to get to the rumor to save Kenji.' he summarizes. 

'What?', Dazai's eyes go bright. 'That's a strange way. But we don't have another way...' he shrugs. 

'Okay. I will jump off the tower.', Atsushi turns his phone off and then looks determined forward. 'But I will not go alone. I want all of you to come along. Lucy, you go along with us. Dazai, call Katai, Kunikida, Yosano and Tanizaki.' 

Dazai nods. 'Speaking about Katai, I think he's at the door.' 

'I'll go.' Kyouka says and opens the door. It is indeed Katai.

'Thank you.', he says. 'I've cracked the password.' 

Everyone rejoices at that news. 'And what did you find?' Dazai is curious as to what Katai discovered. 

'When I hacked the site, I encountered this page. It's called the 'Yokohama Rumor Index' and this is the article on it.' He shows it to Dazai, who shows it to the others. 

'Rumor of the Anonymous AI...that is what we have been conversing with.', Lucy recognizes. 'There's nothing about the boy in it. Maybe that's because Kenji's capture wasn't planned.' 

Dazai shrugs, and then goes on to call the others. 'We'll discover that real soon, I hope.' 

* * *

That night, the group arrives at the radio tower. 

'It may be handier to enter with less people than we are with now.', Kyouka suggests. 'The mafia will sure come to take be back and or protect the rumor. So, who should go?' She looks around. 

'Tanizaki, Yosano and I will hold of any enemies on the ground.', Kunikida decides. 'The rest of you should go into the tower and jump.'

'Which means that Atsushi, Kyouka, Lucy and I will go into there. Deal.', Dazai does the same gesture again as he did when he discovered the name of the boy.

'Hawthorne may be in there too. It's good that I go along.' Lucy is determined to find Hawthorne.

With each step he is taking that will bring him to the top of the tower, Atsushi recites his motivation in his head. Kyouka notices that, and speaks up. 

'Don't worry. In the worst case, Demon Snow will catch you.'

'No, it's not that.', Atsushi waves her worries away. 'I am just praying that we will find Kenji in time before they discover us.'

Soon, they reach the top. 'Okay...', Dazai says. 'I've disabled the security alarm so that people won't rush in here when we jump. Most of all: don't look down!'

'I think I am okay. Let's do this!' Lucy shouts. 

'Then...three...two...one!' 

As the four jump through the window, Kunikida looks up. He realizes that the four have disappeared from sight completely.

* * *

'Where...are we? We're not dead, right?' Atsushi looks at the others, and sees that he is in the same space as Kenji was in the footages. 

'We did it, guys! The first step is taken!' Lucy smiles as she sees that they are in the rumor barrier. 

'Now only a thousand to go...' Atsushi thinks. 

'I feel a trail.', Dazai says and points to the right. 'Another contracted is there.'

'correct.'

'The AI!' Kyouka calls out as the AI appears, just the same as on the footage. Kenji stands next to it. 

'Kenji! There you are!' Atsushi is relieved it wasn't an elaborate prank.

'there are the people that will save you. go, kenji. they wont harm you.'

'But I don't want to leave you...', he says to the rumor. 'They're new, and strange...'

'go, kenji.', the AI once more asks him to leave. 'they will take good care of you.'

'Hey...', Kenji asks. 'You don't hate me, do you?' 

'no, i do not hate you.', the AI denies. 'but it is because of that that i send you to them. they do not mean harm like i said before. run, kenji!' 

Then, Kenji decides to cut the Gordian knot. He runs to Dazai's group, and he sees from the corner of his eye that the AI starts to distort. 

'iii may nnot hholdd backkk' Its speech as well starts getting unstable, and as Kenji turns around, he sees that there is barely anything left he recognizes from the rumor. 

'Okay, guys. Get ready!' Lucy says, and on that cue, the others summon their weapons. Atsushi transforms his arms and legs into that of the tiger, Kyouka calls on Demon Snow and Dazai grabs his guns. 

'I'm sorry, but that is not happening today.'

Suddenly, a strange voice rings out. No one except Dazai can place this voice, and conclude that this person must be someone they never met before. Dazai, however, sighs: 

'This is not my lucky day.'

The source of the voice reveals themselves as someone walks in in magical costume. They have red hair and bright blue eyes, and their red Soul Gem is on a collar they wear. 

'I figured you were here.', they say. 'And I had to take a look. This faulty rumor is mine for the taking!' They then rise up, covered in a red aura, and start the assault on the group. Dazai stands in front of them as if he were a protective barrier. 

'Dude, who are you?', Atsushi asks, and then turns to Dazai. 'Do you know this guy?' 

The person immediately reacts with the same angry tone in their voice as they have been using the entire time. 

'My name is Nakahara Chuuya, mafia executive! And I am nonbinary, you dimwit.' 

'Man, it seemed like it wasn't my lucky day, but I see that it isn't yours either.' Dazai keeps strong during the fight. 

'Don't talk me about it.', Chuuya says. 'The entire day. All messed up by that bloody Puer Magi!' 

Lucy gasps. 'Hawthorne? Where is he? Do you know where he is? Did you see him?' 

But Chuuya does not react on the torrent of questions Lucy lets loose on them, and only lets out a small growl. Then, they say: 

'Oh Grantors of Dark Disgrace, you need not waken me again!' 

'What are you doing-aah!' Atsushi wants to ask what is happening, as Chuuya reveals that they have summoned their Doppel. 

'Take cover!', Dazai shouts. 'That was the trigger phrase! I'll deal with this! Its power source is otherworldly, so don't go rush towards it!' The tone in his voice makes the others obey soon enough. Although Atsushi worries about Dazai, he decides to do as Dazai says as it fills the entire room with black flames. 

'Try to keep out of the flames!', Kyouka says. 'I'll use Demon Snow to cover y'all!' She does not need any approval to do it. Before diving, Atsushi takes a quick glance at Chuuya. 

'Still...what in three hells is happening?' Atsushi has hardship to make his voice hearable over Chuuya's laugh. 'It's like he, uh, they don't have control over the thing at all...' 

Dazai tries to get close, no matter what Kyouka says to the others. 'I have to reach them...' he thinks. '..before it's too late...' He looks at Chuuya, who is now covered in red lines. Their blue pupils are barely visable. Dazai dodges another black fireball. 'Just like back then...' He remembers what he did when nullifying Nyx, and firmly grasps Chuuya's arm. They look shocked, but then, the red lines fade away.

All of a sudden, everything disappears. Both the black flames and Chuuya's Doppel vanish in thin air. Out of pure exhaustion, Chuuya drops on the ground unconscious. Lucy breathes heavily. '...good god. What was that all about?' she says as she looks up to check if everything is really okay.

'I'll explain it to you later! We still have the AI to deal with!', Dazai says. 'You can still fight, right?' 

Atsushi nods. 'Yes...I think so.'

'Then, let's go, and this time for real!' Dazai calls the group together again. 

Some time later, the group has entered full assault on the rumor. Although it consists of data, they find ways to destroy what it is based on. 

'Damn it. If we had Katai, we'd...' Kyouka shakes her head while Demon Snow prepares to attack again. 

'He isn't here!', Dazai says. 'We'll have to do this on our own now!' 

From the corner of her eye, Kyouka sees that Kenji is hesitating to attack the AI.

'Kenji!', she calls his attention, which she gets. 'I know how you are feeling. But only you can deal the final blow. A being of data is not made out of emotion, and that is what you seem to be, if I believe the footage. I was once like you. No one understood me and soon I was being used to spread and protect rumors. But I'm not like that anymore! I want to show you that world outside of here!' 

Kenji is surprised by what this girl around his age says, but he soon mans up. 'You're right.', he says, then talks to Dazai. 'Do you have a gap for me to break through?' 

'Yes...here you go!' Atsushi attacks the rumor again, making it distracted. 

'Okay, here I come.' Kenji thinks, as he prepares to attack. To the surprise of the others, he grabs a part of the barrier, then throws it at the rumor. It is immediately erased from existence, and everything disappears. 

'Kenji? What the...' Atsushi is very confused as for the personal magic of this boy. 

'I've got this superhuman strength as long as I don't eat.', he explains. 'I've been inside the barrier for quite some time now, only surviving on my Puer Magi status...' Atsushi nods in understanding, but he still thinks it is a bit weird. 

'Phew...it's over.' Lucy sighs. 'And what do we do with them here?' She points at the still unconscious Chuuya. 

'We'll leave them there. The mafia will pick them up, I'm sure.', Dazai shrugs. 'And, oh, that. I still have to say it. Chuuya's...different from other contracted people.' he says. 

'In what way?' Kyouka asks.

'Chuuya is not human.', Dazai reveals, and puts in a few seconds to let it sink in as they walk back. 'They're a result of an incubator experiment wherein they fused an artificial witch with a human vessel. That's why I said that it is of an otherworldly nature. It is also the reason why they use a nonbinary identity.' 

'Oh, sort of like a rumor?' Atsushi tries grasping what Dazai explains.

'No, not like that.', Dazai shakes his head. 'And they don't have control over their Doppel at all. The reason why I had to deal with it in specific, is because if I'm not in time, it will burn up their life power until the two split again.'

'That sounds terrible!', Atsushi says. 'But you know him, eh, them?' Atsushi has to get used that there are people who do not conform to the concept of the gender binary. 

'Yes. But nothing more and nothing less than that.' Dazai answers, and then keeps silent. _ There is a lot going on in Dazai's past_, Atsushi thinks, _ but if he refuses to talk about it constantly_, _ shit must have gone down back then_.

It is Kenji who makes Dazai talk again. 'Hey, uhh...so your name is Dazai?', he asks. Dazai nods, and Kenji continues. 'I have a favor to ask of you. It's that I don't have a home, and I'm new in town, so...could I join your cause? The AI said that I belonged with you rather than with it.' 

As Kenji asks that, they arrive at the base of the radio tower again. 

'You're back!' Yosano looks up. Around them are bodies of mafia lackeys. 

'Ah. Just like Kyouka thought.', Dazai looks at them. 'Turns out it was a good decision to go in two teams. We defeated the rumor, so...'

'So they saved you?' Tanizaki looks at Kenji, who nods. 

'My name is Kenji Miyazawa, and I'm so happy I can meet you!', he says. 'I already asked Dazai if I could join you!' 

Dazai considers his question while they walk home. 'Where do you live?', Kenji asks. 'Is it big enough?' 

'I don't live far from here.', he says. 'And yes, it's big enough. Another friend of mine should be at my house now.'

As they arrive at Dazai's house, they encounter Ranpo sitting on the sofa. 'Hey!', He stands up and then meets the new boy. 'Are you the newest of Dazai's friends?'

'Yes.', Dazai decides that Kenji can stay. 'About that...'

Atsushi knows what Dazai wants to say. 'We've got quite a big group now.', he remarks. 'Is it an idea to become an officially recognized team that investigates rumors? I mean, it's strange to keep being known as 'Dazai's friends and acquaintances'.' He makes the air quotes gesture as he says that last thing.

Dazai thinks for a bit, and then says: 'It is...'

'We're more like a detective agency either way.', Ranpo shrugs. 'So we could call ourselves 'Detective Agency'.' 

'But that doesn't have quite that...how do I say it, badass ring to it.', Kyouka says. 'So...'

'Something like 'Armed Detective Agency'?' Kunikida suggests. A few seconds of silence falls over the group, until Dazai speaks up.

'That sounds nice, yeah.', he slowly nods. 'I could work with that. No one has any objections, right?' He looks around, but no one has any objections to the name. 

'Then I'm going to ask Fukuzawa to obtain the Permit.', Dazai immediately writes down a note while Atsushi rips off the clues pertaining to the AI. 

'Let's hope for it!'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally got this chapter out of the way. I'm happy I did...now the Agency is complete, the real fun can start!
> 
> Bonus:  
Doppel of indulgence. Its form is black flames. This emotion has been hidden inside its master their entire life. It is everything that forms said master, yet it is an identity of its own. It has an extremely violent disposition, destroying everything in sight if not properly contained. Its master has sealed it underneath the mixed feelings they feel towards it. Everytime it is summoned, they enter an enhanced state in which their attacks are massively strengthened, but they lose control over their own body and they will die if it is not being stopped in time.


	6. The Memory Museum

'What do you think? Should I do it?'

'I don't have objections. The state of matter is a kind of a disputable good state. They're destroying rumors, but it's not that fast of a pace. But now they've applied for the Permit...we may get in danger.'

'That's what I was talking about. We need something to discourage them. And what is better than this?'

'You just go. I will arrive later once I get confirmation of you.'

'Okay. See you there!'

'Take care.'

* * *

During the days that follow, Dazai's house is basically thrown upside down. Although Fukuzawa does not have the permit yet, Dazai knows if they get the permit, that they will be working in the building that is his house as of now. Kenji is mainly helping out with the moving of the big and heavy furniture, while the planning is in the hands of Kunikida. Dazai himself has Fukuzawa on a short leash so to say, and closely tracks the progress of the Permit.

'Ah, that's the doorbell. I'll go.' Kyouka says as always, but this time Dazai stops her. 

'No, I'll deal with this. This trail is familiar.' And before Kyouka can drop her stuff and open the door, Dazai is on it already. He opens the door, and his hunch was right.

'Odasaku. What do you want?'

Normally, Dazai would be a lot more amicable to his old friend. But ever since they met after the sewers incident, their relationship has become a lot more high-strung, at least, on Dazai's end. 

'I'll tell you once you let me in.' 

Dazai sighs. He knows that Odasaku is moderately okay in manipulating people, though not on his level. 

'Okay. Keep it short.' he says and lets him in, but not without keeping him in his close watch. 

They both sit down somewhat out of sight of the rest. Odasaku's back is turned towards the others, making them unable to see entirely what is going on. 

'I'll keep it short, don't worry.', he says once he is settled. 'I want to invite you all to a lecture. You're free to accept, you're free to deny. That's all.' 

'Is that all?', Dazai squints. 'Really?'

Odasaku shrugs. 'Yes, it is.', he says. 'I told you that I would keep it short, remember?'

Something still itches Dazai about Odasaku. He's not the strange thing from back at the shrine, but something does not sit right with him either about him. But Dazai cannot put his finger on it yet.

'Hey, eh, Dazai. I found this and I don't know what it is.', Atsushi suddenly enters their conversation. He gives a small box to Dazai. 'There's a photo in it with you, him and some other random man I don't know, and an old grey gun. Nothing more, nothing less. I was kinda wondering where to put it, but I decided to ask you first, since it's your stuff, after all.' He then walks off. 

Dazai frowns. _ That is not everything I put in there_. He still opens the box, and sees that there are two items in it, like Atsushi told him. '...there used to be a Grief Seed in here.' he softly says. He looks up at Odasaku in bewilderment. 

'Really now, Shuuji?' Odasaku puts on a tone of disbelief. He tilts his head, and moves his right hand over his face as if wiping it. He then does it again after a few seconds or so. The others cannot see why, but it appears to make Dazai snap. 

'Out!' he shouts, stands up and points at the door behind Odasaku. It is the first time that Atsushi has seen Dazai as angry as he was back in the sewers. At first, Odasaku does not immediately go, but Dazai repeats: 'Out! Don't make it three times, then I will _ kick _ you out!'

Odasaku apparently thinks that is enough and moves towards the door. He holds up his hands as a sign of compliance. 'Okay, okay, I'll go. Just know that you're all welcome for a lecture at the Memory Museum tomorrow afternoon at 15:00!' That is the last thing he says before slamming the door shut behind him. 

Dazai sits down on the sofa, and breathes out. '...oof.' Atsushi kind of wonders what that flash visit was all about, but sees that Dazai is completely burnt out. Instead, he asks about something else. 

'The Memory Museum? Never heard of that.', he says, moving his hand to his chin. 'Sounds like a rumor.'

Kunikida is already googling it on his phone. 'The closest thing that comes up is a so-called 'Recording Museum.', he says. 'Some old museum in town that fell into disuse. There is an address here and according to Maps, it's still there.'

'Hmm. An abandoned museum would be an ideal place for a rumor to make it its home...' Yosano remarks, but Tanizaki decides to call Fukuzawa to know sure.

'Hey, it's me, Tanizaki. So Odasaku came here and mentioned a 'Memory Museum' before he got kicked out by Dazai and I was kinda wondering if it had to do with the- ah, okay. Okay, okay. That's all you know? Thank you anyway. See you later!'

Tanizaki then looks up. 'It is indeed a rumor, and yes, it is in the so-called 'Recording Museum'.' 

As soon as he hears that, Dazai rushes to the cork board to update it again. 'I don't know if that's a good idea.', Tanizaki says. 'Fukuzawa doesn't know much. He told me about that in the Memory Museum, you can ring a bell and memories will show up that influence you. Dunno how exactly. But that's all.' Dazai shrugs and makes a note of it anyway.

'Should we go?', Atsushi asks. 'It could very likely be a trap...' 

Ranpo shrugs. 'It's the only thing we _ can _ do as of right now, I think.', he says. 'Is it far from here?'

* * *

The next day, the group arrives at the Recording Museum.

'You didn't lie to me about the museum being abandoned, Kunikida...', Kyouka remarks. 'It looks like it could fall apart right now.'

'Don't jinx it...' Atsushi gets the creeps from this place, but still enters it after the others. 

'I don't sense Odasaku's magic in here.', Dazai remarks. 'But I do feel another.' 

'That must be from the rumor itself, then.', Kenji answers, having a had a pretty close experience with a rumor already. 'It kinda resembles the AI's.' 

Carefully, the group walks in. They're surprised that the flimsy lighting still works in the building, so that they do not have to use flashlights or the light from their Soul Gems to see where they are going. But then...

'I was waiting for you guys to show up.' 

'Aah!'

Suddenly, a person steps out of the darkness and shows themselves to the group. They're wearing a magical costume, making Dazai wonder why he didn't sense it.

'Who are you?' Kyouka asks. 'I don't think I've ever seen you before...?'

'That is right. You have not seen me, but I have seen you.', the person says cryptically. 'My name is Fyodor Dostoevsky and I welcome you in the Memory Museum. Follow me!' He doesn't even wait for a response from the Agency and starts walking. The others cannot do much but follow him.

Fyodor leads them into a well-lit banquet room. The long table is decorated and there is plenty of food. Most of the food is something straight out of the traditional Russian kitchen, like Ranpo expected. And although he still does not let his guard down, he is happy with the fact that Russian people like sweet things. 'Are you trying to poison us?' Dazai asks bluntly. 

'No, not at all.', Fyodor closes his eyes. 'This is an offer of benevolence.' He goes to sit down at the head of the table. In the light, the others can see him better. He has pale skin and purple eyes. His hair is straight, short and black. His Puer Magi costume looks like that of a king's, as he wears a golden necklace and a golden tiara, both inlaid with a purple gem. 

Still a bit wary, the others sit down. Kunikida sits at the other head of the table, and Dazai and Atsushi sit down next to eachother again. 'Feel free to take some.', Fyodor offers. 'I made sure to make enough.'

'So, what did you call us here for?' Dazai is still as blunt as ever. 'Or rather, what did your employee call us for?' 

'That is what I am getting to next. I am going to tell a story. This story is a true one; it happened in the past.', Fyodor says. 'I will tell it while you are eating. That's nice, isn't it?' He pauses, and then starts to tell the story. 

'Four years ago, there was a magical boy team consisting of three operating in the Port Mafia. I will call these people A, B and C for the sake of shortening. Person A swore to never kill anyone, witches and familiars aside. He even took care of kids who were orphaned in a war the Mafia participated in. One day, C suddenly disappeared without leaving a trace behind.'

He stops here with the first part of the story, to take a bite of the vinegret salad. 'That's kind of a strange story, but if you say that it is a true story...I guess it's not entirely implausible...' Atsushi remarks. Next to him, Dazai tenses up a bit. Fyodor continues his story. 

'A and B discovered that C's disappearance had to do with him being a presumed spy sent from another organization named Mimic, causing a divide between A & B and C. Despite that, A and B continued working together, believing they'd eventually find C if they paid attention to clues. A did so, finding C in a barrier. When they got out, A got poisoned and beckoned C to run away, who did so.'

Tanizaki whispers to Yosano next to him: 'I don't think I can stand the borsjst. Can I pass it to you?' Yosano shrugs, not minding it at all. 

'Well, luckily they found C. But I kinda worry about A. Is he okay?' Kenji, being empatic as always, worries about one of the characters in the story. Fyodor nods, and as he does that, Dazai averts his eyes. 

'Later on, A recovered from the poison, relieved that it didn't kill him. The conflict with the Mafia resulted in a showdown and their leader shows up. I'll call him D. D reveals himself to have made the same wish as A and subsequently got similar powers, and A and D engage in combat. However, A refuses to kill D because of his credo, making D retreat. After the battle, B revealed C was never at the side of Mimic or the Mafia, but was working at the side of the government to keep an eye on the Mafia, and would never return.'

At this point, the group falls entirely silent. The only thing Atsushi hears, is Dazai trying to keep his tears in. It is as if someone mentions his Doppel again, but not yet that extreme. 

'B also increased security around A, including hiding away the kids A was taking care of. However, D kills said kids, darkening A's Soul Gem and pushing him into despair. It even leads to A removing his pacifistic nature and rushed into Mimic's base. It ended up in another showdown between A and D. After a long fight, A eventually killed D, and B arrived after that. However, B noticed that A's Soul Gem was almost entirely dark, thinking that A would simply die when it would happen. Then, A turned into a witch in front of B's eyes. Now knowing the truth, B couldn't bear to work for the Mafia again.'

With that, Fyodor finally ends the story. 'Certainly a tragic story.', Kyouka is the first to speak again after the story concludes. 'But what do you want to tell us with this?' 

'Ah, so that is where I come in.'

'Odasaku!' Dazai immediately reverts from his state he was in before into anger. And indeed: Odasaku is standing in front of the entrance, wearing his Puer Magi clothes. 

'Come with me.', he says. 'Don't worry, you'll be fine. We just need to show you something.' The group stands up and then follows Odasaku. Dazai goes in front, as to protect the group were something to happen.

After some time, they arrive in an empty room. The only thing in there is a book next to the window on a desk. 'What is this?' Kenji asks. 

'You'll see if you take a look into the book.' Odasaku says, and on that cue, Atsushi tries to take a peek. Just as he does so, everything goes white.

* * *

'Where am I...?' As the world reforms around Atsushi, he sees that he is in a bar. A sign reads 'LUPIN', and Atsushi immediately assumes that that is its name. He recognizes it from the photo he found back in Dazai's house. 

'Hey...this bar is...?' He looks around and sees Odasaku and Dazai sitting there, talking with eachother. 'Is that Dazai? He looks different, but...I can't miss it, that's the same trail.' He sees that Dazai wears a black cape over his shoulders, and that he wears his Soul Gem at the base of his throat. He still has the bandage over his eye, but it is simply white. Atsushi cannot hear their conversation, but he sees very clearly that they act friendly around eachother. He wonders why it is so different now.

Just then, the door swings open. Atsushi gasps. This new person who enters the bar, is the same man as he saw on the photo. He is the third man. He has short black hair and a green Soul Gem. Atsushi notices that the three form the RGB colors - Odasaku as red, this new man as green, and Dazai as blue. He wonders what it means.

'Ah, Ango. We were waiting for you.' Dazai says. 

_ I have a name_, Atsushi thinks as the man sits down next do the three and orders tomato juice. 

After they talk for a bit, Dazai decides to take a photo with all three of them. The flash makes everything fade to white again.

* * *

When the world reforms for the second time, Atsushi recognizes where he is this time. '...this is the Museum of Art...but what is going on?' He looks around and sees similar men from back then when he was being followed. _ That has to be the mafia_. They are armed and fighting, but Atsushi does not recognize their opponent, soldiers in black cloaks. 

Two figures exit the museum. One of them is Odasaku, in Puer Magi form. He carries Akutagawa on his shoulder. The other is someone Atsushi doesn't know either: a Puer Magi with red eyes, dark skin and white hair. Odasaku drops Akutagawa off and goes to confront the unknown Puer Magi on his own. But the two seem to be equals and they kind of behave strangely, as if they see something weird during the fight. Atsushi notices that they manage to dodge each of the bullets the other fires. 

'I, ehm. Guess you made the same wish as me?' Odasaku says. That brings Atsushi's thoughts to a halt. _ They made the same wish_? _ Is that why they are behaving so strange_? But just as Atsushi thinks they are going to kill eachother, he says something else.

'No. One day, when I leave the mafia, I will move away. I want to become a writer, and in order to do that, I am convinced I cannot kill people. I want to have a clear mind!' And the other Puer Magi then walks away as everything turns white again.

* * *

Slowly, the world comes alive again. 'This...?' He sees that he is outside of a building he does not recognize. But quickly, Odasaku comes running out of the building as a green-yellowish van gets away. 'What are you doing...?' Atsushi asks, but realizes that Odasaku cannot hear him. He keeps up as Odasaku chases the van, jumping over whatnot is in his way. All of this thanks to his contract.

Just as the driver hits the brakes, Atsushi notices some sort of transmitter that the driver has with him. 'Watch out-' Atsushi tries to warn, although he knows it will not change anything. As the van explodes, the sky is filled with fire. The only thing Atsushi hears before the world fades to white, is a heartbreaking wail.

* * *

The white disappears, and makes place for a banquet hall. It is quite spacious, but the only thing Atsushi sees is Odasaku fighting with the other Puer Magi from before. Around them are bodies Atsushi only notices later. The two point their guns at eachother, and then release a single bullet each. One bullet hits Odasaku's abdomen, while the other shatters the Soul Gem of the other person, who falls down. Not long after, Odasaku also drops on the ground. 

'Odasaku...?' Atsushi runs to him, but he can neither touch or say something to him. It is as if he is invisible. He suddenly hears footsteps, and someone enters the room. 

It is Dazai.

'What an idiot you are, Odasaku, to accompany such a person in death!' he says, rushing to Odasaku's aid. 

'Yeah...' Odasaku looks up, and gazes into his eyes. Atsushi notices that his Soul Gem has become black as the darkest night. 

'Dazai...I have one last thing to say...!' 

'Your magic has run out...!' 

'Listen to me...! You once said that when you entered a merciless world of bloodshed, you'd be able to find a reason to live...!'

'Ah, but now...'

'Such a thing can't be found in there, Dazai...! You should know this. It doesn't matter what side you're on. You still have that void inside you.' 

'But...Odasaku...what do I do?' Dazai says desperately.

'Go...to the...side that saves people...! Become...a good person! Save people...before they end up...like me...!' 

Dazai nods. 'I'll do that. For you. For them. I promise...!'

'Humans live...to save themselves...! They...will understand this before they die. That is...well said...' He loosens the bandage around Dazai's eye.

Odasaku's Soul Gem cracks as he closes his eyes. It immediately explodes, and the space around him warps into a barrier. A massive witch appears in front of him. Atsushi gazes upon the thing as the world turns black.

* * *

'I'm...back in the museum again?' Atsushi realizes that he is back in the here and now. As he looks around, everyone is still there. One by one they turn away from the book and come back to their senses. 'We...these...they are memories, right?' Tanizaki says.

'They are my memories, in fact.' Odasaku tilts his head.

'We just saw the entire story Fyodor told. But...' Kyouka is very confused. But before she can end her sentence, Dazai knows what she wants to ask. 

'How the fuck are you alive?', Dazai cusses. He knows that minors are there, but he doesn't mind for now. 'I saw you turn into a witch before my very eyes! You're not another impostor like back at the shrine, are you?' 

'I've been waiting for so long to tell you this.', Odasaku grins evilly again. 'What is standing in front of you is nothing more and nothing less than an empty shell for me. My real name is Caecilia, and I am Odasaku's witch form.' 

She does not even let it sink in, and then does the same gesture as she did back in Dazai's house. 'See?' It changes her face, leaving only many eyes in its place. 

'Aaah!' Kenji shouts, and immediately goes to hide behind Dazai. Atsushi flinches, looking away. Then, she does it again, and changes it back to how it was before. Kenji still does not move from behind Dazai. 

'You should know what kind of weight has fallen off my shoulders now!', she smiles. 'I, like all witches, am genderless, but I still prefer she/her pronouns, despite what I may look like. This body is no more than a shell to make people more comfortable.' 

Atsushi whispers to Kyouka and Kenji, who is still behind Dazai: 'Wanna go kill the rumor? I'll let you two do it.' And the two run out of the room. 

'Exterminating the rumor, I guess. Well, it's not like I mind. We created this rumor specifically to show you these memories.' 

Dazai is surprised by these careless words, but still clenches his teeth. 'You're not my Odasaku.' he says, but Caecilia does not show any sign of fear. 

'Hmmm...', she mumbles, as if thinking. 'I don't see any reason why I'm not. I've been inside his heart every second in his life from the moment he made the contract. I know everything about him. I have the same memories, and they are not as hazy as you may think they are. There is literally no reason why I am not him.' She then shrugs and tilts her head, Dazai's words having made no impact on her at all. He lets out a growl.

At that moment, the rumor barrier disappears. 'That did not take long.' Atsushi wonders. And soon after, Kyouka and Kenji come back running. 

'You're free to go now. I won't stop you from leaving.' she says. It feels strange for Dazai to hear all these words all in Odasaku's voice. 

She fulfills her words and moves away from the entrance. As they do not see her anymore, Dazai says something to them.

'This is the truth. All people in the memories were real. I was person B, Odasaku was person A, and Ango was person C. You go home; I want to clear some things up.' He looks at his right and then whispers to Atsushi once the others are out: 'I sense a familiar trail.' Atsushi also looks at his right.

'You again?' Dazai shouts.

A Puer Magi shows himself, and Atsushi immediately recognizes him. 'Hawthorne!' he calls out. 'Thank the gods you're still alive! We were looking all over you, and-' Atsushi cannot finish his sentence as Hawthorne attacks him. Atsushi can barely dodge. 

'You still hold a grudge against us, don't you?' Dazai says. 

'Hey, Dazai, take a good look at him. Something's not right.' Atsushi gets up, and Dazai does as Atsushi says. He sees that Hawthorne's hair is all messed up and that his eyes sport a blank stare. 'How...we just exterminated a rumor...the barrier disappeared.' 

'Grudge...?' Hawthorne finally speaks. 'What grudge...? I don't remember seeing you at all...'

'There you have it.', Dazai says. 'Something happened. I don't know what, but...' Hawthorne keeps attacking Atsushi, who has not fought for the day. Due to that, he is pretty good at defending himself. 

'All I know is that I am doing this all for her!' he says. 

'Her?', Dazai frowns. 'You mean Caecilia?' 

'No...not her...', Hawthorne responds to him while he keeps attacking. 'But someone else...' 

At that moment, water comes from above. 

'Leakage?' Dazai looks up, but does not see a hole. 

'It's the sprinklers! Thank goodness.' Atsushi is happy with this sudden turn, because Hawthorne's blood now becomes unusable. 'But who did this?'

'That would be me.'

Someone comes walking in the soaking wet room. It is a Puer Magi clothed in a green sniper's suit, and he has green eyes and red hair. Next to him float two dolls. His green Soul Gem is on the back of his hand. 'I'm Mark Twain, and I used to be in the same organization as Lucy and you.' Although Atsushi and Dazai have never seen before, they are thankful for his input.

'I...don't know you.' Hawthorne says. 

'I know you don't.', Mark says. 'But hey, I finally got the old sprinkler system of this building working thanks to Tom and Huck here.' He points to the dolls next to him.

'We owe you our life, really!', Atsushi says. 'Especially me, he kept attacking me. Initially we thought he still held a grudge against us ever since attacking us back at the shrine for heresy. But...' 

Mark does not look surprised. 'Let's get out of here. The building will collapse.' Before it comes to that, Hawthorne forms invisible words and escapes, while the three go out of the building.

'I'll explain everything to you. It may be sudden, but I'm still gonna do it.' Mark says once they are outside and sit down in the park. 'You may have noticed he doesn't remember any of us. I finally discovered what went down while he went missing. He fought against a Puer Magi of the mafia, Akutagawa Ryuunosuke.' 

'We know him.', Atsushi's expression reveals that he rather would not know him. 'We met the prick more often that I would want.'

'He lost.', Mark continues. 'But then, something happened. His lover, a Puella Magi called Margaret Mitchell, took what should be the killing blow. However, that rendered her in a coma. She's still at the hospital. Her Soul Gem is okay, but her body, it's just...' He holds up his hands because he cannot find the right words. 

'Oh, I get it...and she was part of the same organization?' Dazai wonders.

'Yes, she was. She was his lover, remember.', Mark says. 'Probably still is, though. That is what he said with 'her'. After that, the Demoness got to him and used her hypnotic eyes on him, and that's what's going on.' 

'The Demoness?' Atsushi asks.

'Yeah. With all the eyes and stuff.', A shiver goes down Mark's spine. 'I think you met her before.' 

'Caecilia. Right.', Dazai gets it right before a misunderstanding forms. 'But...that is a lot. Should I go tell this to Lucy?'

'No need, I'll tell it her myself.', Mark doesn't want to burden Dazai more. 'We are battle partners, but I haven't spoken her for a long time since she went looking for Hawthorne. I have her in my contacts, I can just ask her to come to a restaurant or something. I wanna do that. Just a fancy dinner and then talk.' 

'I'm so sorry if it's really rude to ask, but...', Atsushi speaks up. 'The way you're talking about her...are you by any chance dating?' 

Mark smiles. 'How did you guess it?' 

'Either way, we've got to go back.', Dazai stands up. 'Thanks for all your help!' 

'It was nothing.', Mark also stands up after Dazai. 'I'll contact Lucy as soon as she is available, and then I'll tell it to Fukuzawa. You should keep up with me that way.' 

'Yes. Take care, okay?' Dazai nods, and waves Mark goodbye as they part ways.

'I will. Thank you!' And he walks away.

As they arrive back at the proto-Agency office, no one is there. 'Did everyone go back to their own houses?' Atsushi asks. 

'I think they're still shaken up.', Dazai thinks aloud. 'Tomorrow they will come back again. I hope.' 

'I'll message them before they drop out completely.', Atsushi says determined. 'I've got to give them new courage. This is exactly what the Rats want. They want to discourage us and hopefully make us break up even before we're a thing.' 

'You've got a strong conviction.', Dazai kind of admires Atsushi, but not without fear. 'But that same thing, conviction, is the reason why Caecilia is here now.' He refers to the witch's nature. 

'You know what people say.', Atsushi looks out of the window and sees that the night is falling. 'It is best to fight fire with fire.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another kitten out of the bag! In-story, she says that she was waiting quite some time to say it, but in fact that's me saying it. I've been planning this reveal from the start! This is also the point in the story where it will start to differ from the original Magia Record story. For example, the protagonists are not brainwashed, but simply a bit discouraged as of now. This is because I started to dislike the turn the Magia Record story took. The antagonists started to be over-the-top and the protagonists started to say the same thing essentially over and over - which is also something I heard from several fans, that chapter 7 to 10 /suck/. To avoid what in my eyes are the main gripes, is why the story will differ, but you will not notice much of that in the next chapter. For now it will be limited to slight changes and from chapter 8 on, shit will be going down differently and eventually, only half of chapter 9 will be based off the Magia Record plot.


	7. Chelation Land

'I'd say that it the attempt was an overwhelming success! Say, what do you think the next course of action will be?'

'You're impatient as ever, Caecilia. For now we have to refocus on how the cards are dealt now. We've got the mafia on a short leash, but the boss is being kind of stubborn.'

'Do you need me to-'

'No, no hypnosis this time. We will switch gears into a faster pace. We have to. The Agency keeps destroying rumors although they have been cut short some members, so...'

'Alright. I'll call the rumor makers. Do any of you have any kind of luminous idea?'

'In fact, I do. Let's suppose this...'

* * *

Atsushi and Dazai are standing in front of the cork board again. 

'I'm sorry, but...to be honest, I don't see any kind of pattern in these recent rumors...' Atsushi mumbles. 

'You don't have to be sorry, Atsushi. As smart as I get, I don't see any pattern either.', Dazai shakes his head. 'The only thing we've got to do now is to exterminate them all. That is what we will do. So we've got another day to fill, I guess.' 

'I already called Kunikida and Yosano.', Atsushi holds up his index finger and smiles. 'I managed to convince them to go along. No wonder; they are the most stable two of the Agency. They weren't influenced a lot by what they saw yesterday.' 

'That's nice. Will they be here soon?' Dazai asks, but as he looks out of the window he already sees them coming towards the building.

'It's good to see you again, Dazai.' Yosano says as she comes in. 

'Oh, it's thanks to Atsushi.', Dazai looks at the shorter Atsushi, who humbly smiles. 'Have you heard anything of the others yet?'

Kunikida shakes his head. 'No. The only people who have been calling me are Yosano, Atsushi and Rokuzou, who keeps nagging on about a new amusement park.' 

'Oh, okay.', Atsushi says. 'Wanna head out?'

'Yeah. I'm itching for a fight!' Yosano laughs.

* * *

'That was close! Phew, am I happy I did not stay long in there!'

On their way back of another rumor, Atsushi, Kunikida, Yosano and Dazai are talking about the latest uptick in rumors. 

'They're getting stronger, too.', Dazai says. 'And-'

He halts as he sees two men in black with sunglasses coming towards them. 

'I'm sorry, but do you know where the base of the Rats is?' Atsushi asks. The two men shake their heads and then walk past. 

'That's the fifth already!', Yosano sighs. 'One thing they're good at is in hiding both their motif and the location of their base.'

'Hiding...', Dazai mumbles, then speaks up. 'We should grab the map again. Mark all the rumors we encountered. I only marked the recent ones, but maybe something comes out of marking them all.' 

'We could do that, yes. Wanna grab a restaurant?' Atsushi says, and Dazai smiles. 

* * *

It takes some time before they have marked all the rumors on the map Atsushi bought in the shop next to the restaurant. 

'That sheds new light on it, doesn't it?' Kunikida observes the map. He points to an area where barely any marks are set. 

'I wanted to say that.', Yosano says as if claiming territory. However, she is not aggressive. 'There's no rumors in there.' 

'Hmm.', Atsushi thinks. 'You'd almost think...' However, he stops talking because Kunikida gets a call again. He reacts a bit angry.

'Rokuzou. How many times do I have to tell you. I am _ not _ interested in that amusement park opening. No, I don't care. Goodbye.' And he ends the call, then sighs. 'He's been calling me ever since the museum incident. He won't talk about anything else. I never thought of him as a person to get excited about things like that.' 

'Maybe it's a rumor.', Yosano suggests. 'I won't be surprised if it is.'

'In that case, we need to call Fukuzawa.' Kunikida already searches Fukuzawa in his contacts, then calls him.

'Hello, it's me, Kunikida. I was wondering if you have heard about a new amusement park opening soon. Rokuzou won't stop calling me about it, so I want to know if it is a rumor...okay. Okay. Where? Oh, then we'll wait. Thank you so much.' 

As he ends the call, Atsushi guesses right. 'It's a rumor, isn't it?' 

Kunikida nods. 'Yes, it is. But it is in mafia territory. And the chance is quite high that the mafia is guarding the rumor. Fukuzawa suspects that it is there because it is a powerful rumor. He doesn't want us to get in danger when it is avoidable. So he is currently having some negotiations with the godfather.' 

'Will that help, though?', Yosano doubts. 'I mean...'

Before Kunikida can answer, Dazai does it for him. 'I am sure. Those two...' The others look confused at him, but he just smiles.

* * *

'I've been waiting for the day that you would summon me here. I can already guess what the matter is, Silver Wolf.' 

Mori has arrived at the house of Fukuzawa, in order to talk. 

'Do not forget that for the outside world, we are completely unrelated to each other. We absolutely cannot bring out our romantic relationship to them, so we will keep this on a complete business-level.', Fukuzawa speaks calmly. 'And yes, this is about the amusement park rumor on your ground. In order to exterminate it, the Armed Detective Agency cannot have any resistance of your men.' 

'Then I guessed right.', Mori closes his eyes. 'I personally do not see any objections against working with you to defeat the Rats. I've been feeling Fyodor's hot breath in my neck for too long. I may get the Rats after me, but this is the exact thing I wanted.' 

'Yes, I know you've wanted this for a very long time. It's something that has been bugging me recently, too. We will work together in order to defeat the Rats and in turn, you won't let your people attack my people and vice versa. Is that a deal?' 

Mori smiles. 'We both know it is.'

* * *

The group walks out of the restaurant. 'So we will just wait for Fukuzawa to allow us into the area, and likely Mori too.' Dazai concludes.

'Mori?' Atsushi asks, hearing a new name.

'The boss of the Port Mafia.', Dazai explains. 'He will need to give his approval too. But for now...hey!' 

He once again stops speaking as he sees some people heading their way. The others see it too. 

'Ranpo!' Kunikida smiles. Three people run towards him, Dazai, Yosano and Atsushi. 

'We got you back!' Dazai goes and immediately hugs Kenji, while Kyouka prefers to stay a bit behind. 

'Yes, Atsushi messaged us and he told us not to give up!', Kenji says happily. 'And we didn't stay silent! Thanks to Ranpo we managed to find you and reunite!' 

Then, Yosano realizes something. 'But hey, where's Tanizaki?' The atmosphere immediately capsizes like a ship.

'Running an errand, I guess.', Kunikida says. 'As always.'

'No, actually...', Kyouka speaks up. 'We've tried to contact him ever since the museum incident. But his house is locked, the shutters are down and he doesn't react to any messages on social media.' She shrugs.

'Unless he suddenly decided to become a hikikomori, that's suspicious.', Atsushi frowns. 'Can we force the door?' 

Dazai gestures. 'We need a permit, but that's going to take too long. So...yes, we absolutely can.' 

* * *

And at that, they hurry to Tanizaki's house. As they arrive at the doorstep, Kyouka summons Demon Snow and breaks open the door. 

'It's so dark in here...' Kenji mumbles once he sees the interior. He knows that it is probably due to the closed shutters.

'Junichirou?' Atsushi asks. Dazai moves his hand over the light switch, but the light doesn't turn on. 

'Huh.' He then transforms his Soul Gem, shining with a bit of light. The others follow suit, but start walking more carefully. 

Some time later, they arrive at the living room. And there, they immediately see...

'Naomi!' 

A girl with black hair wearing a school uniform is tied to a chair, and a handkerchief is around her mouth, so she could not have screamed. Kenji hurries to free her, removing the handkerchief first. 

'...Aaahh!', Breathing in the fresh air, Naomi gasps. 'Someone came...!' While Kenji unties the rope around her waist and her arms, Kunikida asks her something.

'What did they do?' 

'They took my brother!', she says, her voice still dry from the lack of water. 'And they disabled all electricity in the house! The adapter is off so every trace of WiFi is also gone!' As she says that, Kyouka immediately realizes why Tanizaki didn't react to anything on social media.

'They didn't say where they took him to, I think?' Atsushi tries finding out, but realizes that she likely doesn't know.

'No, what a pity...', she says. 'But thank you for coming...' As Kenji finishes untying her, he notices that her left middle finger is not adorned with a silver ring. 

'You're not a Puella Magi, right?' he confirms. 

'I'm not. My brother is a Puer Magi and that's exactly why I am so worried about him!', She raises her voice. 'He's got a very dangerous power and they will abuse it sure as shit!'

'We'll leave you alone, in that case.', Dazai attempts to calm her down. 'You don't have to fight.'

Meanwhile, the light turns on. Kunikida turns around. 'I've managed to restore the electricity. The WiFi should go back on soon.' 

As he says that, Dazai's phone gives off a signal. 'Ah. I think that's Fukuzawa.' He opens the Discorpse message. 

**Fukuzawa ** _Today at 14:57 _

A few minutes ago, Mori and I finished negotiating. We will work together for the extermination of the rumor and the Rats. This will mean that we will see Mori as an ally for now. This also means that he has called everyone in the area where the rumor is, back, leaving it unguarded by the mafia. We have free access now. He will come along as we go; I am expecting you to come to the mafia headquarters in fifteen minutes.

'Fifteen minutes...but it's almost a quarter past three now! We gotta hurry!' Dazai decides to reveal the rest of the message later. 

'We're sorry, Naomi, but we have to go now. Take care!' Atsushi waves goodbye to her. 

'You take care too!' And the Agency minus one leaves the house.

* * *

A few minutes later, they enter Mori's penthouse. Mori is sitting at his desk and Fukuzawa is standing next to him. 

'Hehe...it almost looks like you're...' Kenji smiles. 

'What?' Fukuzawa reacts very sudden, scaring Kenji a bit. 

'No...nothing.' 

'I have explained the situation to Mori. Dazai already told me why Tanizaki is not here.', Fukuzawa explains. 'And you also discovered something else. Am I right?'

'Yes.', Dazai grabs the map they filled out back at the restaurant. He lays it down so that the rest can see it. 'We have marked all rumors we encountered on this map. And this is how we came to discover that there is a certain area where barely any rumors are sighted.'

After some time, Mori sees it too. 'That's something, indeed. You barely changed. What do you think of it?' 

'Our best guess is that the Rats base may be there, or that they are keeping the area purposefully free of rumors for whatever reason.', Atsushi takes it over from Dazai. 'So our idea was to go there and find it out.' 

'I know that area.', Mori nods. 'Like every area, actually. But hey, there's an old railyard that's fallen out of use there. We can go there and then see what it is. Ever since the Rats came to town, the delinquents disappeared there, so we can enter it freely.' Although he didn't ask yet if the rest agrees with that plan, he already stands up.

'Could we bring some extra Grief Seeds in case of emergency?' Kenji opts. 

'That's a good idea.', Fukuzawa says. 'I have some extra in my stock. And I think Mori has some too?' His other half doesn't even have to say anything back for Fukuzawa to confirm it.

* * *

And so, they take some extra Grief Seeds with them as they go to the old railyard.

'You're right. I don't detect any kind of rumors around here.' Kenji remarks. 

It looks a bit strange, people walking on a railyard, but they know that there are no delinquents and no trains anymore. But there is not any sign of any magic either.

'Maybe they moved to another railyard.', Mori suggests, looking up. 'It's quite big, so the chance exists. So maybe we should split up to cover more terrain.' 

'Wait.', Atsushi suddenly stops walking. 'I just feel a huge chunk of magic. Multiple times the normal.' He knows that it is very weird, especially because there was no magic trail just a moment before. 

'You are really very perceptive.' 

A voice rings out from behind, and everyone turns around. 

'Caecilia!!' the Agency shouts.

'You're used to my real name. Good. Looks like you fell for my trap. I expected better from you, Shuuji.' She smirks. Dazai looks at her with a furious expression. 'You're not my Odasaku.' he whispers.

She is floating just above the ground, and this time, she looks a bit different. Her body is still that of Odasaku as a Puer Magi, but this time she also has strange golden wings inlaid with many red eyes with black sclerae. Some of them look stitched in with red thread. 

'Then, you're used to me being a witch too. Well, I sent three of them your way. Have fun!'

Atsushi almost faints from his tiger senses detecting so much magic. Dazai sees it and touches him, turning him back to normal. But...

'You don't need to do that.', he says as he moves away from Dazai, transforming again. 'I need to fight!' And he disappears in a barrier. 

'I like the resolve of that boy.' Mori says, and then goes after him. That is apparently the cue for the rest to go fight, too. Fukuzawa disappears after him, and Kunikida and Yosano enter another one. Kenji and Kyouka deal with the last one and soon there is no one visible in the area but Caecilia. 

* * *

About fifteen minutes later, they come back to reality one by one. Kyouka sees that the barrier she and Kenji were in, was situated behind Caecilia. She looks at Kenji, who nods, and then prepares Demon Snow to attack Caecilia from the position they are in.

'Hey!' 

Caecilia quickly flashes one of her many eyes, already having known of Kyouka and Kenji's back offensive. The two are frozen in their tracks and notice they cannot move at all. 'You see, I cannot be caught off-guard in any way.', she says once Kyouka and Kenji stand paralyzed behind her. 'This is the reason why.'

'You're just a coward, going for the two youngest members like that.', Fukuzawa remarks. 'I don't know you, but I do know that you're nothing brave.' Although these words are meant to hurt her, she shrugs. 

Suddenly, more people turn up. Mori recognizes that they are his lackeys. 'They're like Hawthorne...' Dazai realizes, and then says to Mori: 'Shoot them! They may be your lackeys, but she sent them to attack you!' Barely a second after he says that, Mori fires his gun. 

'You've picked the wrong opponent!' he shouts above the gunfire. Once he and Fukuzawa killed all of the lackeys that came running, he fires at Caecilia. He hits her abdomen, but she moves her hand over the wound, and there is no sign of it anymore. 

'I won't hold back next time!', Mori says as he clenches his teeth. 'We won't listen to you anymore!' 

Caecilia shrugs again. 'Well, I may be a witch but I am one to fight honest.', She says as she closes her eyes, then opens them again. 'Plus I need to run an errand today. I don't have all day, and I certainly won't spend it with people like you!' And she is gone in a flash.

Finally able to move, Kyouka and Kenji run to the others. 'Phew. She is horrible.' Kyouka sighs as she grabs a Grief Seed and uses it on her Soul Gem. 'It's especially a pity since Odasaku was not like her at all.', Dazai says in a strict voice. 'Let's head back.'

'Yeah, about that...', Atsushi is still curious as for that difference. 'It makes me wonder. What kind of person was he? We've seen the memories, but what was he like? What kind of despair gave birth to Caecilia...' He shivers.

'Odasaku had the power to look five or six seconds into the future.', Dazai explains as the group exits the railyard. 'That is why he looks like a fortune teller, as he is essentially a seer. Caecilia likely inherited that power, which is why she was able to know you were going to attack her from the back.' He points at Kyouka and Kenji, who look away at the mention of the failed offensive.

'Ooohh...', Kenji says as he realizes the implications of Dazai's words. 'Now I get it! That's why she has all those eyes!' 

Dazai nods. 'And why she has mental powers bound to them.' 

* * *

Not even five minutes later, they are back at Mori's penthouse. 

'Okay...so that was a failure...' Kunikida tries not to outright admit that it was a disaster. 

'So they're keeping that area purposefully rumorfree so people who start to see too much want to find out. Right.' Fukuzawa summarizes. But they do not have long to dwell on it as Chuuya walks in. 

'A message from the executive office. It concerns Chelation Land.' they say, and drop a file on Mori's desk. As they exit the office, they flash an angry glare to the Agency.

Mori picks the file up and reads it through. He then gives it to Fukuzawa. 'Oh...this changes the situation.', he says once he reads it too. 'I'll cut to the chase. They have discovered that Tanizaki did not simply disappear. The Rats took him and made him part of the rumor Kunikida was talking about earlier.' 

'The amusement park! I'd almost forget it.', Dazai slaps his own head. 'Of course...that's still a thing.'

'A...part?', Kyouka doesn't quite get it. 'Like how I was controlled by the Misery Rhyton?' 

Fukuzawa shrugs. 'I don't know. We'll find out once we get there. But in any case, anyone who will get near him will get killed.' 

'The executives went there. It's on the grounds of where a failed project of a genuine amusement park was planned to be. They were there, but they didn't enter it. Why, is not in this file.' Mori says as he lays it next to him. 

'This, we know for sure this is not a trap.', Fukuzawa says. 'As there are people who went there first and confirm it is there.'

'Okay. I don't think we've got a lot of time to waste...' Kyouka suggests, at which Dazai immediately reacts.

'Then, let's go!'

* * *

'This is certainly not a trap...', Kenji says as they arrive at the rumor location. 'Look at all those people!'

'It's like half Yokohama or something...' Kyouka shakes her head. 

'Rokuzou must be in there...' Kunikida thinks out loud. 

'I guess that there are a lot of people who await the opening of the park.', Fukuzawa says. 'They'll even go as far as sleep in front of the entrance. It'll be hard to get in...'

'Let alone reach Tanizaki...' Mori adds to it, just as he spots some mafia lackeys hidden behind the buildings. Knowing he didn't send them, he shoots them and kills them effortlessly. 

'But that also goes up for the Rats, of course.', Yosano remarks as he does that. 'They'll send their people in addition to Tanizaki as he's already there, but not many of them as of now. Although I do think that there are currently more people outside of the amusement park than inside, so I hope we can fight without having a ton of onlookers.'

Atsushi nods. 'They'll also need time to regroup. But we're also with a big group. So, who'll deal with what? We've got the rumor itself, the overload of people and we have the minor rumors.' 

'We'll deal with the last two.' Fukuzawa points to him and Mori. 

'Both the people _ and _the minor rumors?' Atsushi is surprised and kind of worried. 

'People know me. Not as an Adjuster, but...otherwise.', Fukuzawa explains. 'They know Mori from his 'Mori Company' that covers for the mafia. We could make them move somewhere else for the time being.' 

'Oh, okay...', Atsushi hesitantly accepts it. 'So that leaves us to deal with the rumor and/or Tanizaki itself. Right.'

* * *

Thanks to Fukuzawa and Mori, they soon reach the base of the rumor.

'I sense something.' Atsushi stops to define what it is.

'I got a bad feeling about that...' Dazai sighs, and indeed, his bad feeling is not entirely misplaced as Fyodor, Hawthorne and Caecilia show up.

'I heard Caecilia got you good, huh?' Fyodor smiles. 'That's kind of funny.'

'It wasn't all such fun, though. What did you do to Tanizaki?' Fukuzawa keeps cool as always.

'Oh, nothing much. We aren't here to fight. He'll do that for us. And hey, this rumor barrier feels kind of strange, doesn't it?' Caecilia looks around casually, suggesting something that confuses Atsushi.

Fyodor nods. 'Once this opens, the purpose of this amusement park will be to generate energy for us. I won't say what for, though. There's no fun in that.' 

'If I were you, I'd exterminate the rumor soon! But beware, if you wish to, the death of your dear Agency colleague and friend will be on your hands!' With those ominous words, they disappear as soon as they came. 

But although he knows this is a very real dilemma, Dazai immediately latches on to the situation. 'It's best if I, Atsushi, Kunikida and Yosano go and seek him out. We have been the closest to him. As for the others, fend off the minor rumors and if needed, other adversaries! We just need to clear the way!' As he calls some names, those people immediately go to Dazai.

'Are you sure this will do?' Yosano asks while they are already walking away.

Dazai nods. 'At least, we will find out how far he went. Maybe we can help the situation later.'

'Are you _ really _sure? I don't know, but all of a sudden I feel not so confident in doing this anymore...' When Kunikida says that, Dazai realizes that something is up. 

'You're not like this, Kunikida. That's not how I know you. It must be the effects of this place. In the worst case, I'll _ drag _ you with me.'

'N-no, thanks...'

* * *

Some time later they find a familiar trail. 'He's here. Definitely, absolutely. But the trail is being tampered with...' Yosano says while fighting against the growing unwillingness in her brain. Of all five, Dazai is the one most resistant to it, because of his experience with rumors being longer than the others. 

'Show yourself!' He calls out.

'I was going to do that anyway...' 

The reaction does not stay out. Tanizaki appears in front of them, using his now fuchsia-tinted illusion magic. Atsushi thinks that Tanizaki looks uglier like this: his hair is now a bright shade of teal, and his eyes are the same fuchsia color as his magic. His costume is a mish-mash of light blue, bright and rust red, and grey.

'You shouldn't be here...this early...', he speaks. His voice is still the same as always. 'Well, as you're here anyway...feel free to relax a bit...' Every part of his speech is impeded by ellipses, as if he is about to zone out. However...

'That...I don't know...', Atsushi shakes his head, but he realizes that his speech is also getting more and more slurred. 'This place...is strange...' Dazai's eyes go bright. 

'This place is just slowly ripping us of life power and willingness to go on.', he says. 'We've got to do this quickly.' He is the first to fire a bullet, and Tanizaki activates his magic again. That is the starting cue for the others to fight too. 

'Look...out!' Right as Atsushi is about to hit him, the illusion disperses and instead, he hits full on Kunikida, who barely manages to avoid Atsushi falling on his Soul Gem. Atsushi drops on the barrier floor, unresponsive. Dazai turns around and sees what happened. 'Atsushi...!' He takes a deep breath to refocus himself, as the effects of the place are also starting to get to him. 

Yosano swings at Tanizaki with her blade, but constantly misses. 'I...can't go on...much longer...' 

'From all of us, I am still...the most stable...', But Dazai starts doubting it a little bit as he says that. Still, he goes on. 'I...should go.' Now Atsushi and Kunikida are rendered immobile, Dazai knows their locations. And although Tanizaki summons various illusions, Dazai tries to see where he is. To do so, he tries touching them, until...

'Incoming!' 

'Kyouka?' 

Suddenly, Kyouka with Demon Snow enters the scene. She slashes all illusions and eventually gets to the real Tanizaki. Impaling him on the sword of Demon Snow like she once accidentally did with Dazai, the illusions disappear shortly after. 

'You came?' Dazai is surprised at her sudden appearance. 

Kyouka nods. 'We exterminated all minor rumors and lackeys in the area. I'm the first one to head here. The rest should come here soon.' And she is right. Not long behind her, Fukuzawa, Mori and Kenji come running towards them. 

'You killed Tanizaki?' is the first thing Fukuzawa says, somewhat distrought.

'No, his Soul Gem is not hit.', Kyouka responds, then points to his now red Soul Gem. 'He's just unconscious.' 

'I could heal him. But.', Yosano offers, but adds a warning to it. 'When I'm done, he will be right awake again and we will need to fight him for the second time.'

'Before that happens, we need a plan.', Atsushi starts to think. 'Everytime he hits us, we lose our intent to live. It saps our energy. So I think it is best to attempt to exorcise the rumor out of him.' 

'My nullifying magic _ could _ do the job, but it will just return him to civilian form. I'll need all of your magic energy to properly exorcise him. This will heavily taint your Soul Gems. Is that okay?' Dazai speaks up. 

In contrast to what he thought, most of them nod, agreeing with the plan. 'That may actually work.', Mori says. 'In this town, the taint will disappear once we summon our Doppels.'

At the mention of that last thing, Fukuzawa looks away. 'What's wrong?' Kenji tugs at Fukuzawa's magical costume. 'Sorry. It's just...I'm very afraid of my own Doppel.' He then shakes his head and looks forward, having chosen to man up.

'How would we do this?' Kyouka gets to the practical side of the plan.

'First, Yosano will heal Tanizaki. We will be standing in a circle around him, except for me. Since all magic in this world is based on emotions and thoughts, you will focus on me and focus on sending your magic to me. As she heals him, I will be standby. Yosano will join the circle after she heals him. Having gathered energy, I will touch him. It should do the trick.' 

On that instruction, the group moves until they circle Tanizaki. 'Here goes nothing.' Yosano steps forward and touches the wound. Butterflies fly up and heal it, until nothing is visible of its existence. Tanizaki suddenly awakes.

'What...' 

The contracted all have their eyes closed, and hold their Soul Gems in their hand. Dazai stands next to Tanizaki, and feels energy overflowing in his Soul Gem. _ This must be it_, he thinks, and right when he feels that the magic has reached its highest point, he firmly grabs Tanizaki's shoulder. A blinding bright blue light escapes from it, and eventually fades away. Tanizaki gives Dazai a shocked look, before seeing what happened. The others open their eyes, and see that their Soul Gems are tainted, like Dazai foretold.

'I...' He looks up. 'The rumor...it's gone. Finally! Oh, I'm so sorry for all the things I did! The universe must've decided to punish me today!' 

Dazai looks at Kunikida. 'Yep. He's back to normal.' Dazai sighs.

'The trail's still here.', Atsushi remarks. 'And the barrier didn't disappear either.'

As he says that, the rumor shows up. 'That must be the rumor itself. Come on, let's go!' Kenji rushes forwards, and the others soon follow. 

* * *

Not even ten minutes later, the barrier dissipates. Somewhere outside of the battleground, people reawake. 'They must wonder what they were doing here in the first place.', Mori says. 'And I also want to know what this rumor did here.'

Fukuzawa shrugs. 'The three said that it served as an energy gathering place. But what it was, they didn't say.' 

'You're right.'

On top of a dilapidated roof, Fyodor, Hawthorne and Caecilia show up. 

'I want to slap a bitch so bad right now.' Caecilia is decidely less happy than Tanizaki is. 

'I just hope it isn't me.' Fyodor rolls his eyes in sarcasm.

'I looked forward to finally see Shuuji being defeated...', Caecilia smirks. 'Killed, preferably...' 

'Haha, there really _ is _ nothing left of your old personality, is there?' 

An unknown voice rings out as someone appears out of the earth. It is a tall man, with a bandage around his head and long, wispy silvery blue hair. 

'Ah, Ivan. I wondered when you were going to show up. You'll deal with the restants of this rumor place, right?' Hawthorne looks up. 

_ He created these barriers_? Atsushi is kind of happy to finally know that. 

Ivan nods. 'Yes, I will. This sapped a lot of energy for me. Don't forget that this isn't actually in my powerset, hey. It's all thanks to our Adjuster Oguri. Now, go. I don't need you.' And he waves them away.

* * *

'She thought her plan was foolproof, huh...' Kyouka wonders once they return in the penthouse. 

Dazai nods. 'She's underestimating me. And since she is a witch, she is essentially Odasaku but with inversed personality and some of his traits exaggerated.' 

'We need to catch you up with the entire situation.', Kunikida starts. 'You went missing some time ago. We couldn't reach you to tell you things.' 

'Yeah...', Tanizaki decides to listen to what they tell him. 'The Rats took me and tied Naomi to a chair. I hope she's okay. And what's the stuff about Hawthorne being involved? I know he attacked Atsushi and Dazai back at the shrine...'

'He did. When you all left from the Memory Museum, he showed up.', Atsushi recalls the situation back then. 'He attacked us again so I thought he still carried a grudge against us. But that wasn't the case. In fact, he said that he didn't even remember us! When I observed him closer, I concluded that there was something wrong. Strange, as you know, Kyouka and Kenji exterminated the rumor. Luckily, a new Puer Magi was there to save our skin. His name was Mark Twain and he used his dolls named Tom and Huck to get the old sprinkler system working, so that Hawthorne's blood became unusable.'

'Yes, and after that, Mark told us what happened when Hawthorne went missing.', Dazai continues. 'Apparently, Hawthorne fought against Akutagawa. He lost, but his lover took the bullet for him, so to say. She's still in a coma in the hospital. After that, Caecilia got a hold of him one way or the other. Then, she used her hypnotic eyes to make him do her bidding, and so, he became part of the Rats.'

As Dazai finally falls silent, Tanizaki looks up. '...That is quite the story. I get it now.', he says and starts to think. 'He may be manipulated like I was. But not with a rumor.' 

'We'll think about that later. We could revive her with Yosano to bait him there.', Dazai proposes. 'But that will not be now. First of all, we finally now who made the rumor barriers.'

'I've heard of him.', Fukuzawa admits. 'His full name is Ivan Goncharov. As I felt his trail when he appeared, I knew I should have known it earlier. It's like a signature on a painting. But his magic is only able to make the barriers, thanks to their Adjuster like he said. So the exact person who is responsible for the rumors themselves, is still unknown.' 

Kyouka looks out of the window. 'It's already late. I think we could do good by returning to the Agency office.' 

Fukuzawa nods. 'Yes, that is a good idea. I'll stay here for now.' 

'Why?', Atsushi did not understand it. 'Shouldn't you go back to your own house?' 

'No, we need to handle some...stuff.' Mori tries to explain, although it only confuses Atsushi further. 

* * *

As they walk back to the Agency office, Dazai breaks Atsushi's confusion somewhat. 

'Don't tell this to anyone, and don't comment on it when either of them is there, but...', He lowers his voice to a whisper. 'Fukuzawa and Mori are in love.'

'What?'

Atsushi shouts louder than he wants to, and immediately puts his hand on his mouth after. 

'What's the matter, Atsushi?' Kunikida asks, but Atsushi is too embarassed to say it. 

'No...nothing.'

'Either way, what is the next step in our plan?' Yosano gets back on topic. 

'There is a certain strange rumor I have been waiting to investigate.', Dazai moves his hand to his chin. 

'The rumor of the Ten-Thousand Year Sakura.' 

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Rats base, Ivan finally returns. 

'You couldn't clear the job before Christmas, huh.' Caecilia snarks. Ivan shrugs and gives her a hateful look. 

'Hey, making barriers _ takes time_. Master Fyodor wants, to say it in his own words, to shift gears into a faster pace, so I need to work more too. It also takes a lot of energy. I've used the amount of Grief Seeds I would use in a _ year_.' 

'Don't worry.', Caecilia says, not hurt by any stabbing words as usual. 'My next plan doesn't involve you. This time, I'm going to rain destruction on the city, and this destruction has a name...' She folds her hands. 

'The name of Yumeno Kyuusaku.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When Dazai says that: '[she is] Odasaku but with inversed personality and some of his traits exaggerated', he's right. That's the way I've been trying to portray her. See it in a way of cause - result (left is cause, right is result)
> 
> Caring - Uncaring and apathetic  
Actively tries saving people - Actively tries killing people  
Cool outside, emotional inside - Exaggerated to the point that sarcasm and words meant to hurt do not hurt at all  
Tries not to peer into people's problems and is polite - Rude and often uses magic to look into hearts (also, see her reaction when she reappears after Tanizaki has been exorcised; that is /not/ something Odasaku would say in such a situation)
> 
> Also, as Dazai noted before, since she inherited his body, she also inherited his voice. Let that sink in...


	8. The unblooming Sakura

Two days later, Dazai's house is officially made the Agency office. They immediately put it to use, because there is a lot of new information to process. 

'No, but we're still trying to discover who the rumor maker is.', Kunikida speaks to Dazai through the phone. 'So far Ranpo and I are still in the dark.'

'That's a pity.', Dazai says. 'Yosano, Mori and Fukuzawa are already preparing the trap for Hawthorne. I haven't heard from them as of recently. Tanizaki, Kyouka and Kenji are tracking the Rats activity, but they aren't busy either. So...'

'The main problem is our lack of leads.', Kunikida decides. 'So I'm holding a strategy meeting half past twelve in the briefing room. Our very first that's held in that room, in fact.' 

Dazai nods. 'Got it. I'll be there soon. I'm on an errand for Mori right now but it'll be done quickly, should nothing happen.'

'See you there.' And Kunikida ends the call. Dazai turns his phone off after having ended the call too and walks out of the mafia headquarters.

'S-stop! Leave me alone!' 

He suddenly hears the voice of a girl in danger. Dazai doesn't hesitate and rushes towards the sound, transforming halfway. 

It turns out that his ears didn't deceive him - in one of the shady back alleys, two mafia men are attacking a girl Dazai has never seen before. He immediately grabs his guns and shoots the two, who drop dead after. 

'Are you okay?' Dazai asks the girl, who he now sees is a Puella Magi. She shyly nods. 

'T-thank you...', she says. 'For helping me...phew, they came out of nowhere!' She tries to look away. 

'Are you hurt?', Dazai prepares to tell Kunikida that the strategy meeting has to wait. 'You're a Puella Magi, right?' The girl nods again. 

'Yes, it'll heal back. It's so strange. They saw me and started attacking me. I didn't do anything, I _ swear_!' Her voice nears a shout. 

'Don't worry, I'm not condemning you. I know an Adjuster. You'll be safe there. I'll go along with you.'

Dazai brings her to Fukuzawa, where the girl finally relieves. 

'My name is Louisa May Alcott. I...I'm not the type to attack people. I don't have any sort of offensive innate magic anyway.' she explains. 

'As a first, it is cowardly to attack someone without offensive magic.', Fukuzawa remarks. 'Like stealing candy from a baby.'

Dazai wants to say something too, but his phone starts to beep.

**Kunikida ** _Today at 12:46 _

WHERE are you???

'Ah, sorry, I've gotta go for real now. I promised Kunikida I would be there at the strategy meeting!' He already stands up and heads for the exit.

'Take care!' Louisa says, but Dazai doesn't have the time to answer. 

* * *

As he arrives in the Agency office, he is out of breath.

'What the hell took you so long?' Kunikida asks, the frustration hearable in his voice. 

'I've got a good reason for that.', Dazai sits down in the briefing room. 'Let me tell you. Right after you called me, I heard someone in danger. Turns out, a girl was being attacked by mafia members. I saved her and brought her to Fukuzawa. Her name is Louisa May Alcott and she's a Puella Magi, albeit not one with offensive magic. She isn't the type to start a fight.'

'...Strange.', Kyouka remarks after Dazai says that. 'Why would the mafia do this? I don't know them like that.'

Dazai shakes his head. 'I also didn't detect magic from the Rats. So how this fits into the entire scheme, I don't know.' 

Tanizaki holds up his hand as if he is in class. 'I just want to suggest something. They could be gathering energy with it. Like they did with me and with the amusement park.' 

'Good hypothesis. But that leads to another thing. What would they need it for?' Yosano implies that this theory only leads to more theories, like a voodoo shark.

'That's what we've been on.', Kenji says that it is the exact thing he's been busy with. 'Together with Kyouka and Tanizaki, we're the ones who have had a one-to-one interaction with rumors. But as of yet we have no idea, except that it is likely closely connected to the motif of the Rats.'

* * *

The rest of the strategy meeting continues more or less in this vein. After it, Dazai, Tanizaki and Atsushi exit the building.

'So this Sakura rumor. Why is it that you want to investigate it further?' Atsushi hops on another topic.

'I believe it is the only rumor we won't erase.', he says. 'I'll explain it to you when we get there later. But-'

He cannot finish his sentence as a familiar Puer Magi appears in front of the two.

'You again?' Atsushi says in a deadpan manner as he sees Hawthorne, who doesn't even react and attacks them immediately. 

'I got this!' Tanizaki summons various illusions in the area, abruptly halting Hawthorne. He lets out a small growl. As he does so, Hawthorne looks surprised and then speaks up.

'I'll cause trouble for the Rats this way...', he says. 'I...I can't do this.' And then, he disappears. 

As Tanizaki lifts his illusions, Atsushi wants to know how he got Hawthorne to run away. 'How did you do that so fast?' he asks, and Tanizaki shrugs.

'Easy. I made him saw illusions of what he would be if Mitchell died.' He says it very casually, but still, Atsushi doesn't quite understand it.

'I thought that your magic solely made illusions?' he asks, and starts to be unsure of it.

Tanizaki shakes his head. 'I make people think that. In reality, I can actually let people think they're in a bad future. I call it 'Phantasm', and while I don't like it, it can be handy now and then. Anyway...' He clears his throat. 'I noticed that he's more tainted than I was with the rumor. I was...say, fifty percent tainted? I was pretty relaxed under it. He runs close to ninety. I'd go even as far as to say that Caecilia has almost fully taken over his mind.'

'Initially I thought she was in fact going to appear.', Dazai admits. 'That's not good. His trail has also been affected then.' 

'Snapping him out of it is going to be hard.', Atsushi adds to it. 'After all, we don't know shit about his personal situation. The best candidates to do it could be Mark and Lucy.'

'I, maybe too.' Dazai looks up as he realizes something. Atsushi and Tanizaki look at him in confusion.

* * *

Somewhere else, Mori and Fukuzawa are talking in the latter's house.

'...that was good.' 

'Let's get to business.', Fukuzawa immediately goes back to what is most important. 'Why would your men attack a non-offensive Puella Magi without reason?' 

'They don't.', Mori looks away with an angry glare. 'If they do, they're not worthy to be my men. Although...there's an option that...'

'You talked about that some time ago. If it's that, it's the worst case scenario.' Fukuzawa knows what Mori is implying. 

'A few years ago, the mafia locked up a Puer Magi named Yumeno Kyuusaku. He could give hallucinations to anyone who touches him. The victims will get a blotch like they've been grabbed hard and they will attack anyone in the near vicinity, ally or enemy alike. If they really plan to use him...' Mori doesn't want to think about it, but knows he has to.

'And if they do, we have to find their base as fast as possible.', Fukuzawa already makes plans for the next course. 'It may be related to the Sakura rumor Atsushi and Dazai are seeking out.'

* * *

A few minutes in the past, but not many...

'Well, that meeting didn't bring us much more, I guess...' Kenji shrugs as they walk out of the base to go hunting. 

'I know what you mean.', Kyouka agrees. 'But we now know why Dazai was late.'

'Like that?' Yosano points to something she sees. Kyouka and Kenji quickly turn around to see it too. 

'Leave us alone! We don't have go anything to do with you! God, what are you, delinquents?'

'It's just like Dazai told us...' Kyouka mumbles as they see two young men being attacked by mafia members. With one swing of Demon Snow's sword, they drop dead on the ground. 

'Are you all right?' is the first thing Kenji asks. The two nod. As they do so, the three immediately notice that they are Puer Magi. One of them is a man with grey eyes and blonde hair. His golden Soul Gem is strapped to his left arm. The other has purple eyes and black, messy hair. His Soul Gem is in a ribbon at his throat and he wears a gothic looking Puer Magi costume.

'We're so sorry for holding you up.', the blonde-haired man says. 'They came outta nowhere!' 

'You don't have to be sorry.', Kyouka says. 'Contracted people should help eachother.' 

'Who are you two?' Yosano asks them.

'My name is Ayatsuji Yukito and this is my partner Edgar Allan Poe. I'm from the government.' 

Kenji's eyes start to shine. 'The government? Oh, then you can warn the rest of the government of these incidents!' 

'Incidents?' Ayatsuji frowns. 

'More contracted have been attacked randomly by mafia members. We suspect foul play.' Kyouka gives a brief summary. 

'It may seem like a strange question to ask, but...do you have offensive powers by any chance?' Yosano tries to see a connotation between the incident with Louisa this morning. 

'Well...', Ayatsuji speaks up once again. 'I cause accidental deaths on true criminals and he traps people in books. So, no, not really.'

'The person who was attacked this morning was a girl without any offensive magic. Dazai said that her name was Louisa or something.' She explains why she asked that. 

On that, Poe veers up. 'I know her...!', he says. 'She's part of the extinct organization I was part of! Our leader, eh, went missing.' 

'The same organization where Lucy is part of?' Kyouka pieces things together. Poe nods. 

'Then, you can warn them too. That's good.', Kenji is already happy enough they can spread the message. 

* * *

The next day, the government and Poe's organization has told anyone they knew to watch out for mafia men attacking them. Ever since the announcement went out over the entirity of Yokohama, most contracted without a direct offensive power decided to stay in.

'The negotiations about Mitchell are almost round.', Yosano walks in that morning with positive news. 'The hospital says that they will coorporate. Right now, Mori is trying to contact Hawthorne as to bait him there.' 

'Can I go along?', Dazai says. 'If anything happens, I will be standby.'

Atsushi protests when he hears that. 'The Sakura rumor is more important, Dazai! Wasn't our first objective to erase rumors?' 

Dazai shakes his head. 'This has priority, Atsushi. I believe that the Sakura rumor is the one they won't erase, and we also can't erase. It can wait.'

As Dazai says that, Atsushi decides to find a compromise. 'Okay. But if you go, I go.' Dazai shrugs.

* * *

At the Rats base, Fyodor has captured Yumeno. 'I've got no more patience to watch this.', he says. 'From now, the city will slowly destroy itself.' He glances at the syringe in Yumeno's arm, serving both to keep him unconscious and to keep his Soul Gem shining. He got the chemical from the black market. Caecilia had to bargain endlessly to get it.

'I am so sorry, master Fyodor, but I have an errand to run.' Hawthorne suddenly says. 

'Who's it from?', Fyodor wants to know the recipient immediately as it is not him. 

'It's at the hospital, they have news of her. I hope she is alive. If not, I will be there to watch her funeral, I guess...'

Fyodor looks away at that, silently accepting Hawthorne's leave.

* * *

Several minutes in the future, but not many.

'...where am I?'

Mitchell reawakens in the hospital, and the first thing she sees is Yosano. 

'You're in the hospital. I just used my magic to heal you. Let's go, you should be fine now.' 

Although she is confused, she is happy enough she is awake. Together, they walk towards the exit.

'I already signed your leave papers. We don't have to go through that.', Yosano explains why they can just walk out. 'Someone's waiting for you at the exit.' On that, Mitchell gasps, having understood somewhere who Yosano means.

As she walks out of the hospital, she is proven right. 

'Nate!' she shouts as she sees him standing there. 

'You're back...' he simply whispers, as Mitchell notices something is wrong. 

'What happened to your hair? And what's with your eyes? Just, what did you do when I was asleep?' She fires a lot of questions on him, but he does not even answer a single one. 

Right at that moment, Atsushi and Dazai appear from the bushes. As if they planned it, controlled mafia lackeys appear from the other side. Hawthorne immediately opens fire.

'They're here!' Atsushi shouts. Mitchell sees that the two are transformed, and also suits up. Although she does not understand why Hawthorne is so different now, she knows that she has to do something to bring him back. 

'Hah!' She summons a huge wind that knocks the lackeys back. As soon as Dazai sees that, he shouts: 

'Let me get close! Wrap me in your wind, as long as I don't touch you, it should work!' 

Mitchell doesn't hesitate and wraps her wind around Dazai. Protected by wind, he is able to get close to Hawthorne as he hoped. The Puer Magi also loses grip on the ground and soon the two are caught in a heavy current. 

Suddenly, Dazai receives a telepathic message, but not from Yosano, Atsushi or Mitchell.

_ I thought they had the answers. Then why were you the ones who healed her? _

He gasps as he understands that this is Hawthorne talking to him. Yet, he decides not to talk back in telepathy. He knows that Hawthorne is not the only one who has to hear it.

'I know your feeling. I also lost a very important person I loved, still love maybe. They changed into something I don't recognize anymore. Certainly, I have contemplated suicide many many times. But eventually I decided that that is not the way to go...and that is also not your way...Nathaniel.'

For a moment, the only hearable thing is the heavy wind Mitchell keeps around the two Puer Magi. 

'I...', Hawthorne also decides to just talk instead of use telepathy. 'You...you're right...'

A loud sound of something breaking, glass shattering on the ground soon fills the air. From shock, Mitchell removes her wind, dropping both Puer Magi.

'...' 

Hawthorne quickly looks up, and as Mitchell looks at him, she sees that he is different. 'Nate! You're...' She knows it's safe now to run to him. 

'I...I'm so sorry!', is the first thing he says. 'Please forgive me! After you fell ill, I didn't know what to do and then...Caecilia came and said she had a solution...but then, she twisted me into something wrong...' 

'It doesn't matter!', Mitchell keeps holding him. 'I got you back! You're good now!' 

'I'm truly in debt.', Hawthorne says as he remodels his hair quickly. 'I got you some Grief Seeds in return...' He grabs some out of the folds of his Puer Magi costume.

'Oh, you really didn't have to...' Yosano says, but accepts anyway. She gives some of them to Dazai, Mitchell and Atsushi too. 

'Dazai...what you said...is that true?' Atsushi is wondering about that ever since he said that.

Dazai nods. 'Every bit of it is true.'

* * *

'Why is it that anyone who I ask to do stuff, is so god damn slow?' 

In the Rats base, Caecilia is getting impatient. Hawthorne still has not returned to base and she starts thinking something is wrong.

'A matter of personal preference, I think?' Although she did not want a response, Fyodor still gives her one. 

'It wasn't a fucking question!', she cusses. 'Why don't you ever understand anything I'm saying?'

Just to aggravate her further, Fyodor reacts: 'Maybe I do.'

This time, she doesn't talk back at all and just growls while she tries contacting Hawthorne using her long-distance telepathy. But...

'Just what I thought. He isn't in my reach anymore. God damn!' 

And she walks out of the base, raging. Fyodor shrugs.

* * *

'We'll bring you to the Adjuster. Recently, the street has been terrorized by sudden attacks from the mafia, so we won't let you go alone.' 

'That's a good idea.', Hawthorne says. 'We're still in a weakened state right now...'

While they start walking, Atsushi asks Dazai something.

'Hey, eh, Dazai...sorry if this is too personal, but...now I remember, that in the memories we saw back in the museum, you were different. You had a black cape and your Soul Gem wasn't what it was now.' 

Dazai averts his gaze. 'When I left the mafia I removed that black cape and I placed my Soul Gem on the last thing Odasaku touched. That's why it is in the same shape.', He raises his voice and cries out: 'And it is also one of the reasons why you _ do not bring up my Doppel whatever the situation may be_!'

For the rest of the way back, Atsushi decides to keep his mouth shut. But when they see the street, he is the first to speak. 

'What in three hells happened here?'

The street is a complete ravage, entire shops being reduced to ruins. 

'I think she discovered that I'm not doing her bidding anymore...', Hawthorne guesses. 'That's just like her.'

Without a word, they return to Fukuzawa's house. As Hawthorne and Mitchell walk in, Dazai excuses him and Atsushi again. 

'As this case closes, we really need to go to the Sakura rumor!' he says, and Fukuzawa and Yosano nod in understanding before they leave.

* * *

Atsushi follows Dazai to the location of the rumor. It is in the outskirts of the city, and Atsushi knows not to talk to him; he is too scared. Some time later, they enter the barrier of the rumor, located in a field with a giant cherry tree in the middle. 

'This tree is not blooming yet, huh...' Dazai says as he sits down in the field. Atsushi sits down next to him. 

'This rumor doesn't seem hostile.' Atsushi remarks. But right as he says that, Caecilia appears. 

'I just had to jinx it, did I...' Atsushi whispers, but she does not attack them.

'I didn't expect you here.', she says, with a surprised expression on her - Odasaku's - face. This time, it seems to be genuine. 'Are you intending to erase this rumor?' 

Atsushi ignores the question. 'Did you create this rumor, then? Did you come to defend it like ever?'

But before Caecilia can answer it, Dazai does so. 

'No, she didn't. Because I did.'

It falls silent for a bit before Atsushi fully realizes the implications of that. 

'WHAT?' 

'When the Buraiha reunites in peace, the sakura will bloom forever.' Dazai looks at the cherry tree in front of him. 

'That's right.', Caecilia acts as if Atsushi isn't there. 'The 'Buraiha'.' 

'It's the name for Ango, Odasaku and me...', Dazai still looks at the cherry tree dreamily. 'If so, I wonder where he is...'

Caecilia shakes her head. 'Rumors are fictional. I thought you knew this much. Anyone in those rumors are fictional too.'

'|I beg to differ...|'

A somewhat monotone voice rings out from behind them. The three turn around, to see an ethereal girl standing there. 

'|I am the manifestation of the Sakura rumor, and I can say that everything Dazai has just said, is true.|' 

* * *

A few years in the past, <strike>but not many</strike>.

'...that is a strange dream.'

Three men are sitting in Lupin, just like the day before. And the day before. 

'Nah, I don't think so.', Ango remarks. 'To be a writer is something to aspire. One day, we will all get out of the darkness we are in now.' 

'Get out of the darkness...' Dazai whispers those words, repeating Ango's wish. 

'I could help you get some ideas if you want.', Ango solemnly smiles. 'I have got a lot of ideas you could use.' 

Odasaku looks up in surprise, nonverbally asking him to continue.

'Say we have this. One day, someone gets a message from an unknown recepient, and they want to know more. And so, they...'

Dazai watches his two friends as they trail off talking about Ango's ideas. Odasaku writes some of them down, while Ango does some concept sketches to help him. He hears the most strange ideas come from Ango's imagination, from having to clean the stairs forever if you break up a friendship to cursed water that will cause a countdown to misery.

'...hah, they're kinda strange...' he says, just loud enough for Ango to hear him. 

'If you want to stand out in the writer world of now, you have to be out there, so to say.', Ango argues. 'Just say it if you know something.' Although he means it in kind of a demeaning way, Dazai starts to think.

A few seconds later, he speaks up. 'Let's propose this. Somewhere, there is a large field with a sakura tree in the middle. On that day, when the Buraiha reunites in peace, that tree will bloom forever.' 

It remains silent for a bit, until Odasaku says something.

'...that's nice. I think I'll use that.'

* * *

Back in the here and now, Atsushi has heard everything. 

'Like I told you before, my memories are not as hazy as you think they are, Shuuji.', Caecilia looks away. 'I will erase the rumor here and now!' She turns to the Sakura girl, who moves away. 

'|You cannot erase me.|', she says. '|I cannot fight|. |I am the one rumor you cannot erase.|'

Dazai nods. He knows that, because he is essentially who laid the base of the rumor. 

'But...how did Ango make the rumors, then? I got that he got the ideas for them, but...' Atsushi asks, still a bit wary of Caecilia. 

She answers him, to his surprise. 'Ango's magic is a form of psychometry and weight manipulation. With the help of Ivan and our Adjuster, we were able to realize the rumors. But now, we are almost ready with our plan. We only need one thing for that still...'

Atsushi does not dare to ask what it is.

'You.'

She grabs Dazai before he can transform. 

'Dazai!' Atsushi shouts, but the rumor girl interferes. 

'|I'm so sorry, but...he is needed to complete the rumor.|' 

Afraid that Dazai will end up in a similar state as Tanizaki was before, Atsushi is frozen in place. 

'Get out!' Caecilia shouts, but Atsushi is so petrified that he does not get out when she says him to. She clears her throat and wipes her face again to show her eyes. 

'GET OUT!'

At that hypnotic sight, Atsushi immediately runs out of the rumor barrier, back to the Agency office.

'Guys!' He storms in, almost crashing into the door. He sees that Fukuzawa was in the middle of informing the Agency about Yumeno.

'Calm down, Atsushi.', Kunikida speaks. 'Where is Dazai?'

Atsushi breathes heavily, but still explains what happened. 

'Dazai...a rumor creator...?' Tanizaki still cannot comprehend it all. 'This...'

'Together with Yumeno's magic, they are a deadly combination.', Fukuzawa says. 'If they are used in the same plan...'

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Rats base, Caecilia is back. 

'This is where you will stay for now.' She throws Dazai in an empty room, and rips off the ring around his finger. He immediately feels energy leave his body. He does not dare to talk back to her. As she closes the room, he hears her talking with someone else. He cannot see who it is from the limited sight of the door window, but still sees her.

'We're almost done now. I've got it, so we can start working.' 

'Yes. Get them.'

She walks away, and returns a bit later. 

'Ivan...and Ango!' Dazai sees that she has brought the two she mentioned in the rumor barrier. 'Is Ango, too...?' He initially thinks that Ango must have been manipulated by Caecilia too, but is quickly proven wrong. 

'...no. He isn't. I can feel that. But he's not entirely himself either.' he thinks.

'So, you know what we need to do. You know that both. The realization of all pent up energy. For that we will need a joint effort, so do not dare to get out of it.' Her voice is stern, and Dazai thinks he sees a short, but hateful glare Ango gives Caecilia. That is, before he is forced to coorporate. Dazai turns away as he hears the two shout as their magic is used again.

A long, dreadful minute later, the screams stop. Dazai carefully looks through the window and sees Ivan and Ango both unconscious on the ground. Caecilia walks up to Ivan and cleanses his Soul Gem with a Grief Seed. She gestures and a lackey comes to carry him away. 

'...so. Let's do this.'

She picks up Ango's unconscious body and carries him with her carefully.

'Why is she doing that...' Dazai wonders, just as he realizes that Caecilia did not cleanse Ango's Soul Gem. 'Oh no...and those are...?' He gets a quick glance of Ango's arm, and sees that it is littered with wounds, right before she disappears out of Dazai's sight and he is all alone again.

* * *

'Are you sure it is there?' 

At the Agency, the members have gathered enough information for Ranpo to track the base down. 'Yes, it is. If it is not Hotel Fendthope, I am a goose.' Ranpo throws his arms in the air to illustrate how sure he is. 

'That's settled, then.', Mori closes his eyes, convinced of Ranpo's skills. 'We will plan a raid on Hotel Fendthope tomorrow. I will gather all Grief Seeds we need.'

As they make the plan for the raid, Atsushi looks out of the window.

'I will find you...', he whispers. 'You wait for me...

Dazai.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, that last line is supposed to be a callback. Caecilia describing Ango's magic as a form of both psychometry and weight manipulation, is a subtle pun. The word for 'feelings' in Japanese is 'Omoi' (思い) and the word for 'weight' or 'heavy' is 'Omoi' (重い).


	9. Regina Duodecim Angelus

'It is bigger than I thought, and yet we did not suspect their base being here, huh.'

The next day, the Agency, Fukuzawa and Mori have arrived close to the Fendthope hotel. 

'Let's not storm in without a plan.', Atsushi decides. It is long ago since he did that. 'After all, we don't know what we will encounter inside. Plus, like Yosano said, it is bigger than we initially held for possible.'

'Let's form teams.', Fukuzawa proposes. 'I think Tanizaki, Yosano and Kunikida have been a team since ages, so I will not do anything to break that up.' The three nod as he continues. 'Mori and I are capable enough to form a duo. That leaves Atsushi, Kyouka and Kenji.' 

'Roger that.', Atsushi says. 'I don't think that anyone of us has an objection against that. Who should go first?'

'We'll all take different directions. Atsushi, you and your team has the most offensive magic together, you will enter through the main entrance. Demon Snow can force open the door if Kenji is not able to, but I trust you.' Mori takes over Fukuzawa's explanation.

'Ready?' Atsushi shouts, but not so loud that it is heard in the hotel. On that cue, Kyouka summons Demon Snow, and Mori summons Elise. Fukuzawa unsheathes his katana and Kunikida gets out his notebook and pen. Yosano grabs her bag full of medical equipment, and Atsushi transforms his limbs into that of the tiger. When everyone is done, Atsushi shouts again: 

'Then, let's go save them!'

No one hesitates and follows the instructions Mori and Fukuzawa gave them.

* * *

Atsushi, Kyouka and Kenji rush towards the front entrance. The door is locked, but Kenji rips it out easily. Due to the sound and the impact, lower members of the Rats soon come running. 

'We'll just slash through them!', Atsushi says as he starts attacking them with his claws. 'If their bodies block the way, Kenji, feel free to toss them out of the window.'

Atsushi does not need to say that twice. As soon as one of them falls on the pathway, Kenji grabs the body and tosses it out of the window. The glass shatters immediately.

'I wonder how the others are doing.' Kyouka says, while Demon Snow keeps slashing through her targets. When she says that, Atsushi tries using telepathy to contact them. Keyword: tries.

'Our telepathy is blocked!', Atsushi shouts. 'We've got no way to know!' 

'Ah, fuck that!' Kyouka has no time for frustration and instead puts it in a cuss word. Meanwhile, she notices that they have killed everyone in the area.

'We've got to move up!', Kenji resolves. 'In that way, we'd know where they are!' 

'That is a good idea, but...', Atsushi evidently thinks that Kenji idea works, but not without something else. 'Since we cannot use telepathy to contact others and hear what they have discovered, we'll have to do with what the lackeys say.'

Kyouka nods. 'That could be of use. Not to say we'll have to leave them alive. To say we'd better keep our eyes and ears open while we move up.'

'That's okay!' Kenji says and runs up the stairs. Kyouka and Atsushi follow.

After some time, Kyouka is proven right. Halfway to the top, they overhear two lackeys.

'Well, at least we've got him here now. I heard he's important to Caecilia.'

'Wasn't his name Dazai or something?'

'Dunno, but all I know is that she said he's important to the plan.'

'According to her, he's at the first floor now.' 

That is all they can say before Kenji smashes their heads. 'You were right!', he says. 'He's at the first floor!' 

'We're almost at that floor anyway.', Atsushi says while still paying attention to his surroundings. 'We have to hope.'

Kyouka is the first one who manages to reach it, while Kenji and Atsushi are clearing the hallways. 

'Dazai?' she shouts, because she knows that she has enough magic to keep Demon Snow attacking. She then notices a door with a window in it, and looks through it. In a corner, Dazai is there, looking exhausted. Kyouka quickly breaks the door with Demon Snow, and Dazai looks up.

'You...came...' 

His speech is slurred. 'You're in civilian form?' Kyouka is surprised at the state in which she encounters Dazai, who wears his tan coat instead of his blue Puer Magi costume. Dazai simply nods and points to his left hand. 

That is all Kyouka needs. She moves Demon Snow to pick him up and carry him, as that is possible now. 'Ah!'

Right at that moment, two lackeys come running. But without Demon Snow, she is left to her own dagger skills to fight, and that leaves her a bit nervous. 

'Stop that right now!' one of them shouts.

Suddenly, a shadow appears between Kyouka and the two. It hits them like a bullet, and they drop dead in front of Kyouka. Out of the shadow, a woman reveals herself. 

'Tsujimura!', Kyouka is surprised at her sudden arrival. 'Where did you come from?'

'I was infiltrating.', Tsujimura explains. 'Do you really think I've been sitting there doing nothing?' 

'You're a lifesaver. I got Dazai. Let's move back to where the others are.' Kyouka keeps it short but powerful, and they return to the hallway. 

'I was looking for Soul Gems earlier.', Tsujimura continues. 'And I saw already that he has lost his.' She points to Dazai, and he faintly nods.

'Tsujimura, you're here?' Atsushi looks up when Kyouka and Tsujimura return. Kenji is also surprised at her sudden arrival. 

'We're here, and we've got Dazai now. Let's go to the other floors.' While Kyouka says that, she already starts running to the next floor. But there...

'Ah?'

'What?'

Within minutes of arriving at the second floor, the lights are turned off. It doesn't even last ten seconds, but as they turn back on again, Dazai is gone. 

'An old trick. Can't believe we fell for that.' Kyouka is still half in disbelief.

'Blessings never come without curses, huh.' Tsujimura sighs. 'Let's just smash the gates and walls.' 

'Yeah, let's do that!' Kenji grows enthusiast at her suggestion, knowing that things like that are his specialty.

* * *

Somewhere else, Fukuzawa and Mori have made it their way through the side entrance.

'I am pretty sure that everyone in the area is dead except for us.', Mori says with confidence. 'I feel Yumeno's trail. He should be around here.' 

With that, Fukuzawa unlocks some doors in the hallway they are in, and opens them one by one. Lackeys once again hear the sound and come running, but Elise holds them off while Mori enters the rooms. And soon after that...

'He's here!' 

Fukuzawa quickly stops what he is doing and joins Mori in his discovery. And he is right: Yumeno is tied to the wall with several cables and has a syringe in his arm. 

'I don't know what this is, but I'd better get it out.' Mori carefully pulls out the syringe while Fukuzawa unties him. 

'He's unconscious.', Fukuzawa remarks. 'And from what I can see, his Soul Gem isn't there.' From the corner of his eye, he sees someone coming in the hallway. He gets out of the room and pins the Rats member to the wall with his sword. 

'Tell me. Where did they bring the Soul Gems to?'

Forcing them to talk, Fukuzawa holds his sword against their throat. 

'F-first floor! B-but n-not in this w-wing!'

After that, Fukuzawa quickly gets rid of him. 'First floor, but not here! We gotta get out of here soon!'

While Elise carries Yumeno, Mori and Fukuzawa both run out of the side wing.

* * *

In another part of the hotel entirely...

'Ugh...this is the worst...'

Dazai slowly wakes up to see that he has been locked somewhere else, and two Rats members are standing in front of him. 

'...well at least I'm close enough to my Soul Gem, huh...'

He mumbles that to himself, and did not expect one of the two guards to respond. 

'It's not like we like being on guard duty either.'

'Huh? Don't you get paid?' Dazai asks them, noticing that he has a chance to string them into a conversation. 

'No...this is all voluntary...'

The other speaks up too. 'But we didn't expect it'd be guard duty of all things.'

'Oh? And then why am I here?' Dazai thinks that maybe he'd finally get a chance to know the motif of the Rats.

The two guards look at each other, and one of them answers Dazai. 

'Master Fyodor wants to end all witches and contracts there are. To do that, he's already closed off most of the Law of Cycles in Yokohama by implementing the Doppel system.'

'How did he do _ that_, then?', Dazai knows that there is a few bit of information known about Fyodor at best. 'Is that in his power?'

The guards look at each other again. 

'You don't have this from me.', One of them lowers their voice to a whisper. 'Somewhere in this base, none of us but Master Fyodor knows where exactly, a reality-writing book is kept. Master Fyodor has already used it twice. One time to implement the new system. The other...I don't know.'

'But even with that, what do they need all the energy for, then?', Dazai wants to clear up one last thing. 'How does that fit in this scheme?'

'To end all of it, Caecilia is going to summon a giant witch fueled with the energy. Or Doppel, I don't know. It will destroy the entire city and everyone in it. That will eventually be the end of all magical energy in Yokohama, or so we hope.'

'A witch? Whose?' Dazai grows increasingly worried. The guards pause again.

'Ango's.'

* * *

Meanwhile, Kunikida, Tanizaki and Yosano are making progress.

'I feel something.' Tanizaki remarks. 'And it's not good.'

Around them are more dead bodies, but together, it did not take that much of a toll. But now...

'Is someone coming?' Yosano quickly turns around. 

'Some_thing_.' Tanizaki holds up his index finger as a giant rumor appears. 

'Darn it. As if we aren't preoccupied already!' Kunikida sighs, but attacks it first. 

Fifteen minutes later, the rumor disappears again.

'I'm getting warmed up just now.', Yosano lets them know she is ready for more. 'Any idea as to what to do next?'

'We are still one floor too high.', Tanizaki says. 'Kunikida, you can go on. We will follow after you when we clear the area.'

'Roger that.' Kunikida runs away and goes downstairs.

Halfway, someone else is making his way opposite Kunikida, who sees that he is carrying a familiar someone. 

'Hey!'

Kunikida quickly knocks him out. 'Dazai! Are you okay?'

Dazai nods. 'Yes...my Soul Gem is on the floor above this one...I can feel that.'

Kunikida grabs Dazai and carries him, because Dazai doesn't have enough energy yet. 'That is the floor of Yosano and Tanizaki. They should retrieve it soon enough.' And he goes upstairs again.

* * *

'Atsushi!'

In another ward, Fukuzawa and Mori reunite with Atsushi's team. 

'It's so great to see you again.', Kyouka says, but is not over-enthusiastic. 'And you've got Yumeno.'

'That's good, because I retrieved a purple Soul Gem earlier.', Atsushi shows it to Fukuzawa and Mori. 'Dazai's Soul Gem is blue, so we thought...' 

'That's his Soul Gem!', Mori says. 'Look, he's slowly waking up again.' He is right: Yumeno opens his eyes as Elise puts him down.

'You...where am I?', He is very confused as he sees all those unknown people around him. 'You're not the Rats, right?'

'No, we aren't.', Kenji says to bring him solace. 'In fact, we're on a raid right now to defeat them. Here's your Soul Gem.' And he gives Yumeno back his Soul Gem. 

'Thank you!', Yumeno smiles. 'I'm so done with 'em.'

'Then I think our team has just gained another member.' Fukuzawa closes his eyes.

* * *

At the other side of the hotel, Kunikida returns to Tanizaki and Yosano. 

'Kunikida, thank god.', Tanizaki breathes out. 'You've got Dazai!'

'That's good, we've already ran into the people who were transporting this.' Yosano opens her hands to reveal the silver ring with the blue gemstone. Kunikida does not hesitate and carefully picks it up. 

Dazai feels energy re-enter his body and slips the ring back on his left middle finger. 'Aah. That's so much better.', Dazai is relieved that he does not have to faint anymore. 'Where are the others?'

'We don't know.', Kunikida shrugs. 'We can't do telepathy. But I heard Atsushi's team is smashing walls. That way, we should run into them soon.'

* * *

'Hm. The two leaders should be in an underground chapel.', Yumeno thinks. 'This hotel is a rumor itself which Ivan can rebuild. But he needs time, energy and a layout.'

'Then, I'll just...' Mori doesn't finish his sentence as he sends Elise to smash another wall. That appears to be the trick. Rumors rush in just as quickly as he did that. 

'Could've expected that.', Fukuzawa grabs his katana and slashes through one. 'Nothing strange.'

As they are fighting, they notice that at the other side of the wall, rumors disappear as well. 

'Is that...yeah!' 

Kunikida's team sees that Fukuzawa and Mori are accompanied by Yumeno as they make their way through the rumors as well. 

'We actually managed to get back at each other without telepathy!', Tsujimura smiles. 'And you've got Yumeno?'

As soon as Dazai notices Yumeno is there, he touches him quickly. Meanwhile, in Yokohama, people are slowly coming to their senses. 'The Lizards are already taking care of the city.', Mori says. 'Of the cursed people, I mean. Now the curse has worn off, they will handle that too.'

'Get ready.', Dazai says all of a sudden. 'Now we're complete, _ someone _knows that.' He expects Caecilia to come, but only a barrier appears. He jumps in, and the others do too. 

'She's using witches and rumors to defend herself, I guess.' Kyouka says. 

Not long after, the barrier disappears from the hotel. 'Let's go outside now.', Fukuzawa commands. 'No one inside the hotel except for us is alive.' The others also know that there is nothing to be found inside anymore, and follow Fukuzawa. Meanwhile, Dazai explains what he heard from the guards. 

'That's bad.', Mori comments after he is done. 'We have got to avert another crisis.'

* * *

Soon after they exit the hotel, Fukuzawa says the group not to let their guard down. 'According to what Dazai heard while he was captured, the biggest fight has yet to come!', he says. 'Keep on guard!'

He is right. Not long after he says that, someone appears, floating in the sky above them. It is Caecilia, this time actively utilizing her wings to stay out of reach temporarily.

'So it has come to this, huh. Nice seeing you.' Caecilia says. She is still holding Ango like Dazai saw her do last time. 

'Well, not really of the same.', Dazai snarks. 'But I didn't expect a nice reunion anyway.' Out of her earshot, he whispers to Atsushi: 'Did you bring your phone?' Atsushi nods, and Dazai whispers again: 'Can I borrow it?'

'We are done gathering the energy, and the time is there, now.', She smirks, as she touches Ango's chest forcefully with her flat hand. Energy immediately starts making its way through his Soul Gem. 'Come out!'

It happens in barely ten seconds. Next to Caecilia, a half-witch emerges, larger than any of the team members has ever seen. 'This is...' Kyouka mumbles. She then turns to face Dazai. 'And what are _ you _ doing?' Dazai doesn't respond as he is calling someone with Atsushi's phone.

'Yes. And bring a _ working _ pen with you! As soon as possible! Thank you!'

He ends the call and answers Kyouka. Meanwhile, she sends Demon Snow forward with sword drawn. 'Calling Ranpo. Fyodor's still inside, I guess. We can't let him get away.'

As soon as it emerges, Tanizaki summons his illusions. 'We won't let it go into the city! With this, it won't think it!', he tells Fukuzawa. 'I can let these illusions up for as long as my Soul Gem stays clear, I can absolutely not be summoning my Doppel in any way or it will go into Yokohama!' With that, Fukuzawa tosses a Grief Seed his way.

'...Ah! This is...' Atsushi breathes heavily. He has been trying to make a tear through it, but as of now, he has had no luck of it.

'I hate to admit it, but we're severely outmatched...', Mori dodges another attack from Caecilia. 'But...they should come here soon!' A hopeful look is still on his face, confusing Atsushi. 

'Every kind of these things must have a weak point of sorts.', Kenji mentions, while he keeps throwing parts of the hotel at it. 'But what would it be?'

'Ango's still somewhere in there.', Yosano mentions. 'But of course, it will not be obvious as to where.' She slashes her blade through it, but there is no sign of even a scratch.

'Coming through!' 

A voice rings out from above, but it is not Caecilia, who looks up in surprise. 

'Who the heck...?'

A red figure, accompanied with two others, rains down bullets from above. Caecilia can barely dodge, but soon, the first signs of damage on the half-witch are starting to show. 

The red figure touches the ground not long after, as well as the two companions. 'Sorry that it took so long. The enemies at the other side of the hotel were holding us up.' 

'Chuuya!'

'In person. Kouyou and Akutagawa here really helped me.', they say, as they point to the other two. 'Our boss sent out a message prior to the match. Because you were busy raiding the front and the side entrances, we decided to get in from the back. Proved to be a little hard.' Chuuya does not have to explain that that is an understatement.

They quickly throw some Grief Seeds in the direction of Tanizaki and the other Agency members, then get ready to fight again. 'But hey, where's our shitty mackerel in all of this?', Chuuya looks around. 'He's gotta be somewhere.' 

It's then that Fukuzawa notices the sudden lack of a certain bandage waster too. 

'I don't know. But he's the only one who can get to both of them...'

* * *

Dazai, in fact, is inside the hotel.

'Here I am! And I brought a working pen, as you told me.'

'Thank you for coming, Ranpo. As you can see, we've got quite a ravage on our hands.', Dazai says and gestures to the bodies on the ground. 'Most people here are dead. Not everyone I reckon. I think that Fyodor's still in here. Could you...run a quick scan of the place?' 

Ranpo shrugs. 'I already did so. And I can say that he's not here.' Before Dazai can even cuss, a horde of reserve lackeys arrive. Knowing Ranpo can't fight, Dazai immediately grabs his guns and starts firing. 

But with every member he shoots, a new one seems to appear. 'Dammit...they won't give me any time to reload!', Dazai says while Ranpo tries to stay out of the fire. 'If it goes on like this...'

The glass behind them shatters. 

'What?'

'Long time no see, huh.' Four figures have made it through the window. 

'You?', Dazai shouts as he recognizes them: Mark, Lucy, Hawthorne and Mitchell. 'How did you...'

'Hey, I know when a buddy is in danger!', Mark says as he shoots right through the heart of another enemy. 'Let's get to work!' Ranpo and Dazai now have a gap to get through. 

'I want to clear my name.', Hawthorne says as he charges another bolt of blood magic. 'And use my magic to honor God once more...'

'Right! We'll get going! When you're done with the area, go seek out Ivan, will you? No one will escape this raid.' Dazai says as they run away. 

'You were looking for a reality-writing book of sorts, huh?', Ranpo verifies Dazai's request. 'That's why you asked me to bring a pen?' Dazai nods. 

'Yes. I asked you to come to. A, seek out Fyodor. B, seek out the book they told me about.' He holds up two fingers in the air. 

'Well, we know that point A is gone now...', Ranpo pauses. 'But I can still do point B. Give me a minute.' 

Dazai gives him that minute without talking. After it, Ranpo speaks up again. 

'They didn't lie. The book is here. The catacombs.', he says. 'And that is the way to get in.' He points to a line in the ground resembling a square. 

'Now I think about it. There isn't really a reason for this to be here inside.' With force, he pulls it up and reveals a staircase underground. They do not hesitate and go down.

'I doubt it'd be this easy. But I can pick locks if needed.' Dazai says. While Ranpo is confused of that initially, he realizes it is probably from his mafia past.

After picking a few locks and choosing a few wrong pathways, Dazai and Ranpo arrive in a small crypt. '...look at that glow. That should be it.' Dazai says. 

'Yes...just look out for traps, will you? This entire situation just spells out 't-r-a-p'.' Ranpo does the 'air-quotes' gesture, but Dazai shrugs. 

'You've watched too many movies.' he says as he, still wary, walks towards it. 'Give me the pen.' Everything inside Ranpo not to do that, but he still does. 

'Hey, Dazai. Before you start to write.', he warns. 'Don't cause this universe or timeline to end, will you?' That surprises Dazai. 

'Universe? Timeline? How do you know of that?' He doesn't yet write although he turned the pen on, but looks up in surprise at Ranpo. 

'Dunno. I used to not know it before contracting.' Ranpo holds up his hands. 

'Either way, I won't. Trust me. Look at it if you want.' Dazai assures Ranpo that he will not destroy anything that will hurt his friends, before his pen touches the paper.

* * *

Outside of the hotel, Kunikida and Atsushi prepare a dual assault. 'I'll try not to hit you.', Kunikida says while he writes down several words in his notebook. He is temporarily positioned on the back line. 'You just try to get close.'

'Got it. Let's go.'

Atsushi rushes towards Caecilia, and Kunikida simply nods. He rips out all of the paper he wrote on, which one by one transform into flashbang grenades. Atsushi runs to attack her from the other side. Being under fire from two different sides, Caecilia cannot predict them both. 

'...I gotta get out of here...' Because she cannot possibly dodge both attacks, she tries flying up, but Atsushi is already on that.

'Not happening today, bud!' he shouts as he slashes his claws through one of her wings. His claws are strong enough to tear it off completely. 

'Huh? This is supposed to grow back...?'

During their assault, at the other side of her, the mafia members try to get close to what used to be Ango. 

'I think I know where he is.', Akutagawa says and points to a specific part. 'There. I can try to get there but only if I have _ very strong _backup!' He stresses those two words.

Kouyou shares a glance with Kyouka and they run towards Akutagawa. 'We'll cover you from above, at least.', Kouyou tells him, then looks at Chuuya. 'Chuuya, you cover him from the flanks!' She knows that they are competent enough to do that.

'Roger that!' Chuuya prepares their gravity energy bolts to protect him from the side. Akutagawa rushes towards the heart, cutting off parts with his magic. Although he has three people protecting him from all sides, he is still careful as to where to tread. But he sees that he can rely on all three of them. While he is still busy getting to the heart of the half-witch, every attack from above or from the side is deflected. 

'Got it!'

Akutagawa reaches the heart not long after. 'There you are. Let's get you out.' Ango is all tied up, and still unconscious. Akutagawa thinks he resembles a marionette like it. Akutagawa quickly cuts the ties binding him and drags him out. 'Now to get back...' 

'He's here!', Kouyou says, but not too loud. 'Don't rejoice, though! Someone may just notice!' She reprimands Kyouka and Chuuya not to relax now, but luckily, both of them did not have the slightest intention to. Thanks to them, Akutagawa manages to drop Ango safely behind the lines. He looks up. 'Without Ango, this will soon collapse...', he says. 'Only the energy is still sustaining it.'

Although Kouyou said not to rejoice, Atsushi is still relieved. 'Phew. The main keystone is gone...', he thinks. 'I just hope it goes quickly after this...'

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the hotel, the four have killed all lackeys and are making their way to seek out Ivan. 

'I don't think he's in here.', Hawthorne holds up his index finger. 'I know his trail. So far I haven't felt it. Let's just move to the first floor.'

'Agreed.', Mitchell says. 'I don't know how many floors this building has, but...'

Luckily for them, they do not have to contemplate that. As soon as they go upstairs, Hawthorne speaks up. 'There it is. Follow me and keep silent.' He keeps his finger to his lips as to illustrate that they have to be silent. 

They track Ivan down to a room filled with books. 

'Ah, Hawthorne? Did not expect to see you here. They're fighting outside. They didn't bother to look into this room for a strange reason.' Ivan looks up from one of the books. But the four are not interested in a conversation. Lucy snaps her fingers and a giant doll appears, startling Ivan.

'Aah! What...' He does not even have the time to put up a fight as it grabs him by his collar. 

'We're not killing you, don't worry.', Lucy smiles deceptively. 'Something better. We're keeping you as a _ prisoner of war_!' Ivan doesn't know if that is any better. 

'You'll spend some time in Anne's room.', Mark smirks. 'One tip: She's fond of tea!' That is the last thing Ivan hears before disappearing.

'That was a good decision.', Hawthorne says. 'He can't manipulate anything in Anne's room since it is not earth. And I think he'll like it in there...'

* * *

Meanwhile, Yosano, Mori and Fukuzawa are bent on tearing off Caecilia's other wing. This time, they make it her even harder with a triple assault. 

'...' 

All she lets out, is a low growl, as Elise attacks her from above and Fukuzawa from the side. Many of Elise's syringes miss and hit Yosano instead, but she pulls them out with force. 

'Haah!'

With force, she swings her blade through Caecilia's other wing. She then jumps away. 'Hhh...I...I did it...' She breathes heavily from all the running and jumping around. Just as she is done with that, Mark, Lucy, Hawthorne and Mitchell exit the hotel. 

'You?' Kenji looks up from his current business, which is the destruction of the building, of which is barely anything left. The only thing still standing is the main entrance, and Kenji is running out of 'ammunition' to throw. 

'We'll explain later!' Mitchell holds off any kind of quick explanation as for their appearance. Lucy sees that Caecilia is moving towards the unconscious Ango on the ground while holding off attacks. 

'Sorry!'

She apologizes for leaving without saying why and Anne grabs Ango before Caecilia can, and also puts him in her room. 

'I'll kill you!' Caecilia growls, but Mark is quick and fires a bullet through one of her legs. 

'Lucy, I'll protect you!' he tells her.

'Look!' Kyouka points up, and Atsushi sees that the half-witch disappears. 

'The energy is depleted, I think.', Fukuzawa says. 'Tanizaki, you can drop your illusions now.' The red-haired boy breathes out and does like Fukuzawa told him.

At that moment, Dazai and Ranpo come running out of the gate, that looks like it is going to collapse any second. Dazai has a small, glowing book firmly grasped in his arms.

'There you are!', Mori shouts. 'Why the hell did you-' But Dazai doesn't let him finish as Ranpo pushes Mori away. 

'Out of the way!' he shouts, calling the attention of Caecilia. 

'You...!' Having lost the fight, there is nothing left of her previous haughtiness. Ranpo runs towards Fukuzawa, and Dazai tries to see where Ango is. 

'Ah...' In all his haste and carelessness, he trips over one of the many pieces of debris Kenji left the hotel to be. 'Watch out!' Ranpo warns him, as he sees that he is falling on Caecilia. But he is too late. The two crash and fall on the ground. 

Dazai slowly gets up. 'Oof...I'm so sorry, you guys.' Although he fell down with quite some force, he still has the book in his arms. 

'Get away from her!', Fukuzawa shouts, knowing that since she lost, she will be angry at him. 'Dazai!' But as Caecilia gets up...

'...I...you...this...?' Dazai looks into her eyes and sees that her black sclerae have turned back to white. 

'...Dazai?' 

'You...?', Fukuzawa is completely puzzled by the current situation, something very rare. 'You are...?'

'I'm Sakunosuke Oda...'

Atsushi and Ranpo look at eachother. 

'You're sure?', Kyouka asks him. 'Your name is not Caecilia, right?' Odasaku(?) gives Kyouka an annoyed look, and then looks down, getting a slight idea of what happened. 

'He's calling Dazai 'Dazai' and not 'Shuuji'.', Atsushi whispers to Mori. 'It's definitely him.' 

'Where is Fyodor in all this?' Fukuzawa asks Dazai. 

'He wasn't in the hotel at all.', Dazai tries hard not to cuss. 'We found that out.'

'Somewhere, I kind of expected that.', Mori shakes his head and closes his eyes. 'But I didn't know sure.'

'I...', Odasaku tries to put his feelings into a sentence, but doesn't have much luck with it. '...anyway. Ango's in Anne's room...' Lucy hears that, and speaks up. 

'Get in here.' She quickly transports Dazai and Odasaku to Anne's room. 

'We should head back.', Atsushi proposes. 'Mori, you said that there is being taken care of the situation in the city?' 

Mori nods. 'Yes. We should join them and tell them that the disaster has been averted.' With that, the group heads back.

* * *

In Anne's room, Dazai and Odasaku find Ango.

'He's been unconscious ever since I was captured.' Dazai says. He wants to add _ by you_, but decides not to. Odasaku kneels down. 

'I'll wake him up.'

He carefully touches Ango's neck, and he bolts awake. 'You!!!' is the first thing he utters in a loud voice. 

'Calm down.', Dazai knows that Ango still thinks that Caecilia is possessing Odasaku. 'This is Odasaku for real.' 

Ango slowly gets up. 'You're...real?' Odasaku nods. Although he is back alive, Dazai has noticed that he hasn't said a lot yet. He guesses that it is out of pure shame of the things he has done while still named Caecilia. 

From the corner of his eye, he sees that Ivan is drinking tea with Anne. 

'I see that she dealt with you as well.' Dazai says, but smiling. 

Ivan shrugs. 'I don't mind.'

'Let's get home...' As soon as Ango is standing again, Dazai wants to go. 'The Buraiha is together...who would have thought...'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title roughly means (in pretty botched latin) 'The Queen and the Twelve Angels'. The 'Queen' is Caecilia of course, and the Twelve Angels is the team before the others come (Fukuzawa, Mori, Atsushi, Dazai, Kyouka, Kenji, Kunikida, Yosano, Tanizaki, Yumeno, Ranpo, Ango). It is also a very obvious callback as to where my roots were.


	10. Epilogue

Two days later. 

The city slowly recovers from the damage of Yumeno's curse. Everyone knows it will take long, but the four have contacted people from overseas, who should be helping to accelerate the process. 

Dazai brings back the book to the government. 'What did you write?' Atsushi asks, still curious as to what Dazai did.

'It was essentially, '_Bring Odasaku and Ango back as to how they were_'.', he explains. 'But for the book, it has to be coherent like a story. Hence why she lost her regeneration slowly.'

That same week, a party for everyone who has been helping with the fight is held that lasts until the next morning. Mitchell takes Hawthorne with her, wrapping him in her wind. Lucy invites Mark to a picnic at Anne's room, which he gladly accepts. Some people even say that they have seen Fukuzawa and Mori leaving hand in hand.

'There is still one place I want to go.' Dazai says before walking out. Odasaku and Ango both know what it is. 

'It's been a long time ago since I went there.', Ango says. 'About time I visit it again.'

'Yeah...' Odasaku can't bring up more to say as they walk towards the Sakura rumor.

'The tree is in full bloom...', Dazai looks up at it and sees the most beautiful shade of pink he has ever seen. 'We are here, in peace...'

Ango sits down at one of the chairs in front of the tree that have been placed by the Sakura girl recently. The other two follow suit. 'Who'd ever think that this moment would be there, huh...'

'The last time I was here...let's say that it was not pretty.', Odasaku decides that it is time to address the elephant in the room. 'I remember everything. Everything she said, everything she did. Fyodor used the page to revive me in the wrong way and it was so horrible. Everything she said to you...' Dazai knows he is talking about him.

'What was it?' Ango asks. Although he knows it's a bit impolite, he still does it because he does not want this conversation to be strictly between Dazai and Odasaku.

'I can't even bring myself to talk about it.', Odasaku averts his gaze. 'She is not gone. We coexist now, kind of? She's not seperate or anything, more like an _aspect _of my personality I'm more aware of now...Anyway, she doesn't have influence over me as she is essentially me, but yet not. Although I can still hypnotize people should I need it, but...' He does not have to finish that sentence for Dazai and Ango to know what he means.

'We know it was not you. We don't forgive her deeds, but they weren't exactly _ yours_.', Ango says. 'But you can work on clearing your name now.' Odasaku nods. 

'The people will likely still think of you as her. But that will change gradually.' Dazai thinks that if it would not go as he tells him, he would make it sure.

'I'm sorry if I'm talking too much, but...' As Odasaku wants to start another topic, he first makes sure that everyone is okay with it. 

'Not at all.', Ango closes his eyes. 'Take your time.' 

Odasaku clears his throat and then speaks up. 'Uhm...ever since I got back, I'm kind of confused, because...', He pauses. 'Caecilia is genderless and uses she/her pronouns, and I'm not, well, I don't _ think _ I am. But now...it doesn't feel the same as before I died? I mean, it does, but it gives a new perspective? I've grown aware that part of me identifies as that, and that's just...confusing?', He goes on as he sees that his two friends are still paying attention. 

'And while I'm not the same as her, I don't think I'm a guy either...'

'Hey, that's not an issue with me.', Dazai shrugs. 'I think we're all in agreement that it shouldn't be an issue.'

'It's good with me, too.' Ango agrees with Dazai.

Odasaku smiles. 'Well, I don't know it yet, but I'll keep you two updated.'

'That's settled, then.' Dazai tilts his head. He sees the Sakura girl heading towards them.

'|You came!|', she says happily. '|The rumor has finally become true. I...can be erased, if you want.|' 

But Dazai immediately decides he does not want to do that. 'No, we won't do that. You can exist indefinitely.', he speaks. 'You can live a normal life if you want and take on one of our last names.' 

'|Like 'Sakurako Sakaguchi'?|' She thinks up a name.

'Something like that, yeah.' Ango is okay with lending her his last name.

'Want to head home? You can join the Agency if you don't want to get back to your old house if that brings back bad memories.' Ango suggests.

'No...', Odasaku says. 'Let's enjoy the sakura for a bit longer.'

'Yeah, let's do that.' Dazai touches the hand of Odasaku next to him, who is surprised at first, but then holds it. He finally feels complete.

The rain starts to clear up, and Dazai knows that, after all, he would say that this day is his lucky day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof. This wild ride has finally come to a stop. I ended up making an ending of my own, which I'm really content with. I think this is also the time I'll make a confession: I, like, /really/ enjoyed writing Caecilia's character. She's an evil bitch, but a /shameless/ one. Never in my life I've made a character cuss this much and I /loved/ it. Somewhere inside, I am kind of sad I can't write her anymore.
> 
> And yes, there will be a part 2. However, I can already say that I'm not going to include the spiderweb politics between factions. About 90% will be originally written content, much like this epilogue.


	11. Extra: Confessions of an Angel

'Eh, Odasaku…?' 

Tanizaki opens the door to Odasaku's office bit by bit. 'I...uhh…'

His hesitation makes Odasaku wonder why he wants to seek xir out. 'What is it?', xe asks him. 'Something the matter? You can come in anyway.'

He closes the door behind him, and now Odasaku sees that he's carrying some papers. Faintly recognizing them, xir heart skips a beat. 

'I wanted to show you this.', Tanizaki says as he sits down. 'During our raid on Fendthope, I came across this. I thought that maybe, they would describe some plans for the Rats, so I took them. It's written in a handwriting Dazai says it's yours. But honestly, I can't see you having such a messy handwriting…' He gestures over the lines.

Odasaku takes the papers and looks at them. 'This is our handwriting, but we only write like this when we're angry. However, we do remember writing this down not too long ago. We can probably read this and tell you a bit more about it.'

'Please do.'

* * *

_ Okay. So. Everything what's written here is purely because I need to get this crap out of my head. Fyodor said writing it down might help. But, holy hell, where do I start. _

_ Hmm. I think I can start with the least of my worries. I guess that that's the chance of the Sakura thing coming true. After this is over, the final confrontation will be between me and her. She will be the last trace of magic to vanish from Yokohama. Then, we will expand this plan globally. _

_ The Sakura rumor...I won't deny that that issue is more or less purely personal. Ango is just a potent power source and Shuuji...I don't get why he's in love with the person this body belongs to. Pathetic, if I had to use one word to describe him. Hell, he couldn't even prevent my birth! _

_ I know, it sounds strange. But I really think that it'd be better if I wasn't born. Not trying to be like Shuuji, hell no. If I'm sounding like him...I could just as well quit this shit. I am purely saying that because not existing at all like this seems currently better than now. Everything I want is unreachable, no matter how hard I try. You must already have seen that, by the amount of times they've been stitching my eyes back. I know, I shouldn't be tearing out my main source of power. But I'm a witch, after all...I know no better. And that's another thing to blame the body for, I guess. _

_ Well. Now I've already addressed the body...I've been struggling with that ever since the moment Fyodor put me in it. Before, I was just a witch, and then a Grief Seed (I know, sounds weird). That's all. I remember that back then, I didn't have much of an identity. Somehow, as soon as I got into this body, I immediately know two things. _

_ One: This body is perfect, because he was a goody two-shoes. _

_ Two: _ _ Why am I put into a male body_ ?

_ Hey, don't get me wrong. I've been fooling Shuuji until he got to the Memory Museum and that was priceless. And I'm a genderless witch, but I'm done with that crap. I am a girl, and a goddamn queen at that. Man, the body was so annoyingly humble. Clearly never heard about standing up for your own rights. But, whatever floated his boat, I guess… So, here's the question again, in case you forgot. _

_ Why am I put into a male body__? _

_ It's honestly so annoying that everytime I ask that, I have to explain everything again. Sometimes, everyone in the Rats gets on my nerves. Except for Hawthorne of course, since he does everything I tell him to like a good puppet, in contrast to some other people out there. Not looking at anyone in particular :) _

_ Hmm, seems like I've got some space left. I'm not going to give this to Fyodor like a schoolgirl turns in her homework. He's just provoking me, but I'm so pissed off that he always says I'm an angel. I get what he means, but I don't want to be seen as good? At all? _

_ But, hey. That's most of my issues. If I write more about them, I might sit here for another three hours. There's an amusement park that needs finetuning. The 'welcome committee' is already there. _

* * *

'I thought about this the entire night.', Tanizaki says when Odasaku is done reading. 

'Like we said, we remember writing this.', Odasaku puts the papers on the desk. 'In contrast to me, Caecilia is a heavily troubled individual, but only because she sees these things as troubles. In the past, she was in the back of my mind, saying that I deserved a better rank. I always suppressed that...but, according to one of my books, that just makes her more powerful.'

Tanizaki scratches the back of his head. 'Well, it makes me all the more happy that she's dormant.'

'That…', Odasaku sighs. 'We're sorry for forcing you to fuse with the rumor back then…'

But Tanizaki smiles. 'Thank you.' Then, he closes the door behind him.


End file.
